Nissan LEAF owners to get FREE ICE car loans and recharging in the UK

Nissan UK has announced that owners of the electric Nissan LEAF will be able to have a free loan of a petrol or diesel car and free charging.

We’ve long been of the opinion that an electric car – assuming you’re prepared to fork out the silly amount of money they cost – is a great second car.

After all, for short journey’s in your local area – off to the shops, picking the kids up from school, out to dinner – an EV is perfect. But it can’t replace a proper ICE car when it comes to driving further afield (something the motor industry, in general, agree with).

That now seems to be something Nissan are prepared to recognise with their latest offer to LEAF EV owners.

Nissan has announced the Nissan CARE-EV LEAF customer commitment scheme that offers incentives to owners and prospective buyers of the perfectly able LEAF who have the same concerns we do about its practicality as a real replacement for a petrol or diesel car.

So Nissan will now offer all LEAF owners a free ICE car for up to 14 days a year (it should be more) as long as you give your Nissan dealer seven days notice and cover fuel and insurance, so you will be able to take off to Cornwall for a fortnight in the summer without spending half your holiday charging your LEAF.

Nissan are also offering free recharging of the LEAF at the growing network of rapid chargers up and down the UK’s motorway network, where you can get an 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes (no doubt in response to Tesla’s Supercharger network offer).

Added incentives include free European roadside assistance, a guarantee against the battery in the leaf falling below 75 per cent capacity in the first five years or 60k miles, and a guarantee that anyone wanting a test of a LEAF will be able to do so within 24 hours.

It’s a sensible move from Nissan, and one which would have more legs if they offered more than 14 days free ICE car, even if it’s an expensive way to tempt buyers in to an EV,