THE first shipment of Nissan’s Leaf electric car arrived in the North East yesterday.
The car, which will go on sale prior to production beginning in Sunderland from 2013, arrived in Tyneside aboard the aboard the City of St. Petersburg, Nissan’s new energy-saving car carrier for transporting vehicles in Europe.
The shipment came on the day a surge in sales and market-share saw Nissan overtake rivals to post its highest market share in Europe since 1995.
Nissan’s Leaf is set to safeguard thousands of jobs in Wearside and the wider supply chain, but pressure is mounting on the Government to show greater commitment to installing charging points across the UK.
This week, Gateshead MP Ian Mearns asked ministers what steps they were taking to address so-called “range anxiety”, especially in relation to charging points in rural areas.
The Government has said its nationwide Plug-In Car Grant will provide money for charging points, and a strategy promoting the infrastructure is due in the summer.
But, Mr Mearns said, the Government had much more to do to prove it was prepared to back the roll-out of the Leaf.
He said: “It’s just a small example, but I was speaking to some people from Canada the other day and they have had to really push this roll-out to make sure there is a charging point in every supermarket, especially vital over the harsh winters.
“We are nowhere near that and we need to do more. The success of this car is vital to the North East economy, there are a lot of jobs dependent upon it and we need people to know a charging point is going to be very, very easy to find.” In a statement, Nissan said a comprehensive charging network is currently under development in the UK.
The North East alone will have 1,300 charge points by 2013, including quick chargers capable of refuelling a Nissan LEAF from when the empty warning light switches onto an 80% charge in just under 30 minutes.
Yesterday Simon Thomas, a senior vice president at Nissan, said: “The arrival of the Nissan Leaf, the world’s first affordable, all-electric car, in Europe is a landmark day for Nissan and European transport. The Nissan Leaf is a genuine alternative to petrol and diesel cars in terms of style, features, safety, performance and handling.
“It is fitting this first shipment of Nissan Leafs is arriving on our new energy-saving car carrier, the City of St Petersburg.”
Nissan saw record global sales of 4.08 million in 2010, surpassing the 4 million mark for the first time and confirming Nissan as the second-largest Asian manufacturer.
