The Nissan Leaf has been named as the Green Car Journal’s 2010 Green Car Vision award winner at the Washington Auto Show this week.
Nissan’s innovative electric hatchback offering is scheduled to go on sale in Europe by 2012. The Leaf beat off competition the Coda electric sedan, Ford Focus BEV electric car, Mercedes-Benz F-Cell hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, and Toyota Prius PHV plug-in hybrid, to win the award.
Explaining the selection, Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com said:”Nissan’s move to offer a stylish battery electric vehicle as part of its model line is significant,
“This coming electric model will provide the features, the styling, and the driving experience that will meet the needs of a sophisticated and demanding market, while producing zero localized emissions and requiring no petroleum fuels.”
The vehicle’s cost does not exceed that of a comparable internal combustion model and the gas to run it.
“This kind of price parity is crucial to the success of any mass market advanced technology model,” Cogan says.
The Leaf, a family-sized hatchback has a top speed of 87mph, a range of 100 miles and can be charged to 80 per cent capacity in just 30 minutes with a quick charger.
To be considered for the Green Car Vision Award™, vehicles must be in their early stages of commercialization but not yet on sale, in small volume production with more than one functional prototype in existence, or operating as part of a demonstration fleet.
The Green Car Journal is a US-based green car publication, first established in 1992.
The Washington Auto Show which played host to the award, opened to the public yesterday and runs until January 31, 2010.
