Nissan Leafs Dodged Quake, Tsunami, Head for US

The disgruntled Nissan Leaf customers in the US, unhappy with the way in which the delivery process of the electric vehicle is being handled, will be happy to know that, at least for some of them, the disaster that struck Japan last week will not affect their delivery dates.

One day before the 8.9 quake triggered the huge tsunami that swept through the cities on Japan's northeastern coast, Nissan managed to send to the US a ship carrying 600 models of the coveted electric vehicle.

Even so, it is to be expected that the delivery process of the Leaf will be in some degree affected by the disaster. Nissan is careful not to agitate the customers even further and limited itself at saying that "future impact, if any, on Nissan Leaf supply continues to be assessed."

Nissan is one of the worst hit car makers by the Friday quake. Unlike Toyota though, that is losing money because of the now-over-a-week-long shutdown of its plants, Nissan also lost brand new vehicles.

Some 2,300 models manufactured by Nissan under the Nissan and Infiniti badges (Infiniti M, Infiniti FX and Infiniti MX and Nissan 370Z), who were lined up and ready to board a ship bound for the US, were struck with the full force of the tsunami as it hit the docks.

Earlier today, Nissan updated the status of its Japanese plants. Four of them (Oppama, Tochigi, Yokohama, Nissan Shatai) will remain closed until Sunday, March 20, while tow other (Kyushu Nissan Shatai Kyushu) will work intermittently throughout the week.