Nissan LEAF: the innovations keep on coming

JUL

2014

Renault-Nissan Alliance Team

Nissan LEAF: the innovations keep on coming

What do old clothes, recycled electrical appliances, free electricity and paint that keeps itself clean have in common? The answer is the futuristic Nissan LEAF.

Thanks to its electric motor, it has been estimated that the LEAF has contributed to reducing CO2 emissions by a remarkable 151,000 tons since its launch in 2010.

But there’s more to an environmentally neutral car than zero emissions… so to lower the CO2 emitted during its production as much as 25 per cent of every Nissan LEAF built in Japan is made from recycled materials.

The car uses recycled steel, copper and aluminium while some plastics come from old electric appliances. Old clothes, meanwhile, are used to create sound insulation materials. But owners shouldn’t worry that the use of recycled materials is compromising quality.

“We ensure these parts made from recycled materials are of the same quality as parts made from new materials," said LEAF Chief Vehicle Engineer Hidetoshi Kadota.

As well as helping the environment, new LEAF owners in America are saving themselves money every time they recharge their batteries. A ‘No Charge to Charge’ campaign is giving new owners in ten markets across the United States two years’ worth of free public charging. At least 15 more markets will join the scheme over the next 12 months.

The lucky drivers have free access to 2,600 public chargers – including more than 200 quick chargers – with more on the way. What happens when the two years are up? Well, they will still save money as the electric LEAF is much cheaper to run than an equivalent petrol or diesel-powered car.

One Nissan LEAF is clean in another way, too. A pioneering self-cleaning paint technology developed in America by UltraTech International Inc is currently undergoing tests at Nissan Technical Center Europe.

The specially engineered superhydrophobic and oleophobic paint repels water and oil. Called Ultra-Ever Dry®, it creates a protective layer of air between the paint and the environment, effectively preventing standing water, rain and road spray from marking the surface of the car.

So far it has impressed the NTCE engineers and although there are no plans to feature the paint as standard equipment on new cars, Nissan is considering whether to offer the coating technology as a future aftermarket option.

When it comes to innovations, Nissan LEAF has no intentions of stopping.