Nissan LEAF EV: Euro sales start – UK in September

The Nissan Leaf goes on sale in the UK in September

The Nissan LEAF EV is going on sale in Portugal and Ireland with the UK following in September.

We recently reported that the Nissan Leaf has exceeded all expectations after going on sale in Japan and the US, managing to acquire 19,000 orders in the briefest of time – twice the planned annual rate of production.

We half expected that news – great though it is for Nissan – to delay the launch of the Nissan Leaf in Europe. After all, if you’ve already taken orders for twice as many cars as you can produce in the first year you’d think you’d get production ramped up before you start taking more orders.

But no, it looks as if Nissan are confident that their facilities will be able to cope with the volume of orders they’re getting so the Leaf is going on offer in Portugal and Ireland now and the UK in September. If you’re up for a Leaf you’ll have to stump up a refundable £257 deposit and go take a test drive in December (gives Nissan time to build a Leaf or three). Only then will you have to commit to the order.

Nissan say that they will start deliveries of the Leaf in January in Portugal, February in Ireland and March in the UK. The Leaf will cost £28,990 before the £5,000 electric car subsidy. A big price to pay for a modest hatch – even one that comes with goodies like AirCon, Parking Camera and SatNav as standard (just remember that using them could severely restrict your range) – but it will be very cheap to run until the Government starts to heavily tax electricity for use in cars. Which they will.

Probably best to look at the Leaf as a big City car, and intend to use it that way. Then it makes some sort 0f sense. If you intend using it as a replacement for you family Focus or Golf you will come severely unstuck if you ever want to drive outside the county in which you live.

We are not anti the electric car. But we are hugely anti the disingenuous insinuations that electric cars can somehow replace the ICE car for most people.

They can’t.