Nissan, which is part-owned by Renault of France, has billed the Leaf -- short for Leading Environmentally-friendly Affordable Family car -- as the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV).

"This is a significant milestone, not only for Nissan and the Renault-Nissan alliance, but also for the entire automotive industry," said Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn at a ceremony in Japan.

"Consumers are clear. They want sustainable and affordable mobility... and the alliance is leading the way with cars that deliver exactly that, with the reliability, excitement and performance that consumers demand."

He pledged the Leaf "will radically transform what consumers expect from automobile manufacturers worldwide".

Nissan has gambled that its EVs will take off globally and overcome consumer concerns such as "range-anxiety", or the fear that their cars will run out of juice between electric charging points.

To promote its EVs and set up charging stations, Nissan says it has signed 80 partnerships worldwide with governments, municipalities and companies.

The five-seater hatchback, with a top speed above 140 kilometres (90 miles) per hour, has a range of 160 kilometres and can be recharged in eight hours, or rapid-charged to 80 percent of capacity in 30 minutes.

Its lithium-ion batteries are manufactured in a joint-venture between Nissan and Japanese electronics giant NEC Corporation.

Having kicked off Leaf production at its plant in Yokosuka southwest of Tokyo, Nissan plans to also start rolling out the EVs from a US plant in Tennessee in late 2012 and a factory in Sunderland, England, from early 2013.

The Leaf is due to go on sale in December in Japan and the United States, and from early 2011 in several European markets.

Ghosn said in May that the first year of production had already sold out. Nissan has reported receiving 20,000 orders for the Leaf in the US alone.

Nissan, which is about 45 percent owned by Renault, predicts electric cars will account for 10 percent of global sales by 2020.

earlier related report
Hyundai Motor taps into China's commercial vehicle market
Seoul (AFP) Oct 22, 2010 - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. on Friday announced a tie-up with a Chinese company to produce commercial vehicles in China as it seeks to build on its reputation for passenger cars in the world's largest automarket.

The largest South Korean automaker on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with Ziyang Nanjun Automobile Co. that will see a joint investment of 500 billion won (440 million dollars).

Hyundai and Nanjun will establish a number of joint projects to produce and sell trucks, buses and engines, as well as to develop new models and provide follow-up services, Hyundai Motor said in a press statement.

Through the joint venture, Hyundai hopes to sell about 90,000 commercial vehicles in 2011, rising to 300,000 by 2015, representing a five percent share of China's commercial vehicle market, it said.

Hyundai Motor has two plants in Beijing with an annual production capacity of 300,000 cars each.

It sold 510,000 vehicles in the first nine months of this year, up 24 percent from the same period last year.

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