Nissan Leaf EV pilot program launching this weekend

Nissan Leaf EV pilot program launching this weekend
UPDATE: The Leaf pilot program was officially launched today by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry at ETCM’s PJ showroom

We know that the Nissan Leaf electric car is in town, ready to star in a pilot program by Edaran Tan Chong Motor. Looks like the public launch will happen this weekend in PJ, as seen on an invite posted on Nissan Malaysia’s Facebook page.

Since its a pilot program and not commercial sales, we figure that the battery powered Leaf will be loaned out to individuals for tests. On sale commercially elsewhere, the Leaf is the reigning Japanese Car of the Year for 2011-2012, the first EV to win the award. The Leaf is also the 2011 European Car of the Year and the 2011 World Car of the Year winner.

Stay tuned for updates!

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • How to participatE?

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  • bystander on May 03, 2012 at 4:40 pm

    Finally, a rare earth free EV! How to participate? 160 km seems only fit for city drive…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • rosdi on May 03, 2012 at 4:54 pm

    Kenapa tak jual sini? Kasi jual sini la… I am all for smoke and noise free environment!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • BeemerFreak on May 03, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    This is silly and does not make sense. If you launch something, make sure you sell it. Why tease us Malaysians and make us more frustrated? We know the Leaf is an excellent car but why frustrate us by not selling it. So what is the purpose of the launch if there is no intention of selling it here? Just to waste people’s time?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • Visitor on May 03, 2012 at 6:16 pm

      I am sure Nissan studies the market here in Malaysia, and they may take into account various factors such as government tax free incentives for hybrid and electric cars. Hybrids may already find their way here, but electric cars are just too expensive. Even in US, the government has to give $7500 rebate just to encourage people to buy Leaf. The original price there is $35000++, which is $10000 more expensive than the the most expensive Toyota Prius.

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    • Jonathan Lee on May 03, 2012 at 6:58 pm

      You do realise that the infrastructure for electric vehicles in Malaysia is pretty much nonexistant, right? If you buy a Leaf now, where are you going to charge it? How much road tax is the government going to charge you?

      Plus, you do realise you can sign up for a pilot program, right?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • civic fan on May 03, 2012 at 7:00 pm

      everything also you critic ! semua you hentam ! are you ok ? cool down bro !

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Always Look Alike on May 03, 2012 at 9:02 pm

      Sometimes, when you’re not in the business of selling cars, you won’t understand why they doing it!

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    • BeemerFreak,

      There is bcoz v stil dun have enuf charging station in our country. Guess dat they r trying 2 cooperate wit gov or other organization 2 settle the problem. Anyway, I realy hope dat v cn gt a better environment ^^

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • jab fierce strong! on May 03, 2012 at 8:20 pm

    Oh wow, it’s the Nissan Leaf!

    Pros :-
    1. Totally green!
    2. Fully Electric!
    3. Mother Nature loves you!

    Cons :-
    1. A single charge could cover up to a maximum distance of 161KM (100 miles) with an average of 117KM (73 miles) combined
    2. It has a max speed of 145KM/H
    3. A full charge will take approximately 7 hours on a 208-240V home-charging station. 480V quick-charging systems will provide an 80% charge in under 30 minutes

    And here are some scenarios to ponder about

    Scenario A :-
    You forgot to charge your car the night before and woke up late rushing to go to work. You pull your hair out realizing the car would not start at all due to the depleted batteries. In the end, you call your boss and informed that you’re taking an emergency half day leave to charge your car (not a very good reason huh?)/late to work as you need to take a couple of hours off to go to the quick charging station to charge up your car

    Scenario B :-
    An urgent business trip came up and you’ll need to drive your car out of town to get yourself to Penang, while your colleague could get to Penang in approximately 4~5 hours with a Kancil 660, you would reach the same destination in 6~7 hours! Why so you asked? That’s because you need to charge your car at the quick-charging system at least 4x times and it will take at least 30 mins each (Waiting time at the stations were not factored in here)

    Scenario C :-
    You are stuck in a extremely bad crawl in downtown KL for 3 hours, the traffic is not moving at all and the weather’s scorching. Your car were fully charge prior to the journey and due to the weather, you have to blast the air conditioning to cool down the interior and the stereo too to reduce that pent-up stress and soon you realize that the battery drain like a burst pipe. Eventually those actions deplete the car’s battery and you’re not able to move while adding salt to the injury, you’re causing even worst jam due to your stalled car (yes, I’m aware that if the car does not move, the battery will not drain)

    Conclusion :- This car is not practical unless you’re buying it as a second car and no i’m not either a Toyota/Honda/Suzuki/Volkswagen salesman. Long live petrol engine! :D

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Jonathan Lee on May 04, 2012 at 5:17 am

      Long live the petrol (hey man, what about diesel?) engine? If we all had this sort of change-resisting mentality a long time ago, we definitely wouldn’t be here right now. We all know that petroleum will one day run out. If we don’t work out on a solution now, we’ll all be doomed when it does.

      This car is the first step. As with everything, electric cars will improve. They will have further range, longer battery lifespan, be cheaper, faster and more practical to charge. Yes, right now, they’re severely compromised. But no one is pretending that it’s anything but the case. Even Nissan believes the majority of the people buying the Leaf will be using it as a second car, usually as an urban commuter.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • /ngeTaRD on May 03, 2012 at 10:31 pm

    NAP niche market is electric. let see how far this new BS can last before they report NO result!

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  • Pikachu on May 04, 2012 at 12:22 am

    EU and US had just announced that they decided to develope a new standard EV Car quick charger connector, known as “Combo-coupler” connector. They will fully implement this by 2015. The major car companies agreed to this standard are Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen.

    Upon this announcement, japanese side feared that they need to follow the same connector standard in order to compete with them globally. However, japanese standard of connector called ChaDeMo had already established worlwide with 1154 charging station has been installed in Japan, 207 in Europe and 32 units at other countries including US (total=1392 unit). If the japanese decided to switch to new EU/US standard of connector, these already installed charging station will be demolished, since the charging system between the two connectors (Combo vs ChaDeMo) is completely different. The announcement regarding the new quick charging connector standard has sparks a major threat to Japanese EV car industry and gives the japanese company a big dilemma.

    FYI, companies that involve in the development of ChaDeMo connector are Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroen, Siemens and Samsung.

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  • Would you pay RM200K for Nissan Leaf?

    Nissan Leaf ex-factory including shipping from Japan:
    http://www.batfa.com/newcar-nissanleaf.htm
    Nissan Leaf (Electric car) = USD$59,000.00
    Price plus shipping and marine insurance: USD$56,500 + USD$900 + USD$120 = USD$60,020.00
    USD$60,020.00 = RM184,376.00 ?????????
    Nahhh…must add hidden duties too RM15K so total price RM199,376.00 !!!

    HA HA HA NISSAN LEAF AT RM200K PRICE???

    A very efficient green car but PUNISHED with high prices. Bravo NAP Bravo!!!!

    Let’s check other Nissan from Tan Chong:

    “Nissan Elgrand 3.5 V6 price RM398,342 on-the-road, with insurance”

    Nissan Elgrand 3.5 V6 ex-factory including shipping from Japan:
    http://www.batfa.com/newcar-nissanlgrand.htm
    Nissan Elgrand 3500cc 2WD = US$ 57,500.00
    Shipping and marine insurance cost (USD$900 + USD$120) = USD$1020
    Total: USD$58,520.00 or RM175,930.00
    http://www.batfa.com/photo-newcar-elgrand-mainphoto.htm
    No thanks to NAP crazy tax daylight robbery price difference:
    RM398,342.00 – RM175,930.00 = RM222,412.00 !!!

    “Murano 3.5L V6 AWD is fully imported from Japan, and goes for RM318,882 excluding road tax and insurance”

    Nissan Murano 3.5L ex-factory including shipping from Japan:
    http://www.batfa.com/newcar-nissanmurano.htm
    Nissan Murano 3500cc 4WD = US$ 59,700.00
    Shipping and marine insurance cost (USD$900 + USD$120) = USD$1020
    USD$60,720.00 or RM184,376.00
    http://www.batfa.com/photo-newcar-murano-front.htm
    No thanks to NAP crazy tax daylight robbery price difference:
    RM318,882.00 – RM184,376.00 = RM134,506.00 !!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Microvave on Jul 06, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    To hi-tech Nissan & TanChong,

    I suggest you firstly launch an awareness program for Malaysian regarding safety matters, especially stability control.

    After then, let’s talk about EV in Malaysia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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