It doesn’t seem like the Nissan LEAF electric car has been on the market for all that long – but now Nissan North America will upgrade the vehicle for the 2012 model year.
The 2012 model will benefit from additional standard equipment and cold-weather features in what is seen as a response to direct feedback from Nissan LEAF owners on the features that they want.
Among the enhancements will be DC Fast Charge capability as standard on the Nissan LEAF SL after it was discovered that the vast majority of model year 2011 customers had opted for the DC fast charge port that allows the vehicle to be charged at 480V, which reduces charge time to under 30minutes for charging the vehicle to 80 per cent from a fully depleted state. In addition, cold weather features have been introduced including a battery warmer, heated steering wheel and heated seats in both the front and rear.
From Monday (July 25), Nissan will open up the ordering process to consumers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, DC. Then from August 4 it will open new reservations and orders to the general public in these new markets and states where it is already on sale – Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Delivery of the first 2012 Nissan LEAF vehicles will start this autumn and then Nissan will expand further to Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York; before reaching Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island by the end of the year.
The suggested retail price for the 2012 Nissan LEAF will be $35,200 for the SV trim level and $37,250 for the SL trim level.
