Roy Cokayne
Nissan plans to launch its Leaf electric vehicle into the South African market in 2013.
Nissan South Africa managing director Mike Whitfield made the announcement at the Johannesburg International Motor Show yesterday.
However, Whitfield stressed that the launch of the Leaf into the domestic market was subject to confirmation of government policy on battery charging infrastructure and customer incentives related to zero emission vehicles.
“As far as I am aware, the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) is studying various options and hopefully we will see something rather sooner than later,” he said.
The Leaf, a fully electric vehicle, is the current World and European Car of the Year and has sold more than 12 000 units since its launch in Japan, the US and a number of European markets.
With greater pressure on governments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, Whitfield said, the car was featuring more prominently. Nissan Leaf had had a considerable impact in the three regions where it had been launched, he said.
Nissan expected to sell 50 000 units of the car globally in this financial year, while the aim of Power 88, the group’s six-year plan for the 2011 to 2016 financial years to accelerate its growth, was to put a cumulative 1.5 million electric vehicles from the Nissan-Renault alliance on the road worldwide by 2015.
As the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle, he said, the Nissan Leaf had already brought affordable, practical and enjoyable zero emission mobility to thousands of people.
“Although there is more work to do before we can confirm its launch in South Africa, doing so would underline both Nissan’s and this country’s commitment to delivering a more sustainable future for road transport.”
The time it took to install the infrastructure depended on the focus but the time it took to put in a charge unit, including home chargers, was the key, Whitfield added.
Charge units would be required within a 30km radius in the major cities, which were the focus of electric vehicles because 80 percent of the world’s population did not drive more than 100km a day.
Whitfield anticipated Nissan would sell “a couple of hundred” Leaf units in the first year of its launch into the local market and grow slowly.
He said Nissan SA was looking for direct incentives for itself from the government for electric vehicles but a number of issues needed to be addressed related to incentives to end users.
These included the import duties to be charged on electric vehicles and whether buyers of electric vehicles got any incentives in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Some countries were offering free usage of toll roads, free parking and certain tax rebates for drivers of electric vehicles.
The Nissan Leaf’s advanced lithium-ion battery has a range of up to 160km on a single charge, and a top speed of up to 145km/h. It is built at Nissan’s Oppama plant in Japan but will be assembled at its plant in Smyrna in the US from next year and at Sunderland in the UK from 2013 as well.
Nissan SA spokeswoman Veralda Schmidt said the Leaf cost £23 000 (R294 000) in the UK and e30 000 (R327 000) in the euro zone, the same price as the Qashqai. She stressed the price in South Africa would be dependent on negotiations taking place with the government.