600 electric car charging points secure roll out of Nissan LEAF in North East
Elaine Brass
18th December 2009
Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has secured the roll-out of its LEAF electric vehicle in the North East, following an agreement with regional development agency, One North East, that will see over 600 electric car charging points rolled out across the region by 2011.
Under the deal, signed at Nissan's Sunderland car factory today, One North East will install at least 619 publicly available, ‘future-proof’ charging points by January 1 2011. In return, Nissan will prioritise the supply of its LEAF electric vehicles to the region.
Nissan unveiled the zero-emission LEAF in August. Designed specifically for a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, Nissan LEAF is a medium-size hatchback that has a range of more than 100 miles. It is due to be launched in the US and across Europe in late 2010.
In March this year, One North East and Nissan formed a partnership to explore the development of a zero emission mobility programme in the UK. Now, the two partners have set out a roadmap for the roll-out of electric vehicles and infrastructure across the region. In a statement, One North East said would the deal would "cement the region’s status as the national centre for the development of ultra low carbon vehicles".
Electricity at the 619 charging points will be provided free of charge until March 31 2012, or until an itemised billing system becomes available. The charging points will support both three kilowatt (kW) and 7kW charges and will also include twelve 50kW ‘rapid-charging’ stations.
The agreement also contains firm commitments on incentives for drivers and education and demonstration initiatives that will be introduced throughout 2010 and 2011.
One North East chairman Margaret Fay said: “The commitments we are making today will show industry and consumers alike that North East England is serious about electric vehicles. We look forward to stimulating and shaping this emerging industry which will create new jobs for our region and help to reduce CO2 emissions.”
"Thanks to One North East's efforts, the necessary conditions – including infrastructure and incentives – will soon be in place to allow rapid adoption of Nissan LEAF and other electric vehicles in this region,' said Trevor Mann, Nissan’s senior vice president for Manufacturing in Europe.
As part of the agreement, One North East has already installed two charging points for public use within its own head office car park at Newburn Riverside in Newcastle.