As the global leader for electric vehicles, Nissan is well placed to judge the customer reaction towards the forthcoming launch of its pioneering, all-new LEAF.
Back in 2010, when the first-generation LEAF was introduced in Europe, most competitors were skeptical towards this Nissan innovation. They continued their focus mainly on internal combustion engine improvement. Fast forward eight years: Consumers’ understanding and appetite for electric vehicles has been transformed, with demand experiencing a five-fold increase since 2012. Now, the vast majority of car brands are developing their own first-generation EVs.
At the same time, Nissan has built upon the experiences and feedback of 83,000 LEAF drivers to develop a brand new vehicle.
That car – the all-new Nissan LEAF – has received unprecedented interest from customers since its European unveiling in October 2017. In two months, 10,000 have been ordered across the region, and growth is expected to increase as the vehicle starts to hit showrooms from February 2018.
At the same point back in 2010, orders for the original LEAF could be counted in the hundreds, as customers were presented with this new and exciting – but still unproven – technology. Since its global debut in Japan in September, consumer interest and momentum for new LEAF has built steadily across Europe. In early October initial vehicle specifications and pre-sale pricing were released at Nissan’s Futures 3.0 event in Oslo, Norway. Since then, customers have been able to place orders for new LEAF through their local Nissan retailer.
