Photo: Nissan LEAF
Nissan is slowly but surely seeing the title of the global best-selling electric model drifting away from its LEAF model, but since the Japanese carmaker is Japanese, it's not ready to let it go without a fight.
Truth be told, the LEAF already has 350,000 units under its belt, which is more than what the whole of Tesla does at the moment, all models considered. But if the American company sets its wheels in motion the way it has planned to, all it needs to make up the deficit with its Model 3 is one year of uninterrupted production, and it would skip ahead.
The thing with this scenario is that it assumes Nissan would stay put in the meantime, which is something the Yokohama-based manufacturer doesn't plan on doing. In fact, after the seriously underwhelming launch of the new LEAF from last year - which we honestly think did more harm than good - Nissan is now preparing to introduce a new and improved version of its electric hatchback that should make it a much more attractive proposition.
Deliveries of the current iteration started last October in Japan, and only just last month in the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Europe will see the first LEAFs reach its shores during this month. All these, however, are markets in which Nissan's EV has been present before.
Wards Auto tells us that starting with the next fiscal year, the battery-powered hatchback will also be available in seven new markets in the Southeast Asia region. These are Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. According to research carried out by Nissan, the potential growth of the EV market in the region is great, with over 40 percent (on average) of prospective buyers being open to acquiring an electric vehicle.
The Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia did not make the cut for this first expansion batch, but they are the next on the list, especially if everything goes as planned in these new seven countries added to the already impressive list (over 60 markets in total).
Meanwhile, Tesla's expansion into the very EV-friendly Chinese market has hit an obstacle and is stalling, leaving the Californian carmaker to rely on the North American region and, to a smaller degree, Europe for the bulk of its sales.
Regardless of how all this goes and who'll hold the title this time next year, one thing is certain: the EV segment is heating up. And that's before big names such as Volkswagen or Toyota have even entered the fray.
The thing with this scenario is that it assumes Nissan would stay put in the meantime, which is something the Yokohama-based manufacturer doesn't plan on doing. In fact, after the seriously underwhelming launch of the new LEAF from last year - which we honestly think did more harm than good - Nissan is now preparing to introduce a new and improved version of its electric hatchback that should make it a much more attractive proposition.
Deliveries of the current iteration started last October in Japan, and only just last month in the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Europe will see the first LEAFs reach its shores during this month. All these, however, are markets in which Nissan's EV has been present before.
Wards Auto tells us that starting with the next fiscal year, the battery-powered hatchback will also be available in seven new markets in the Southeast Asia region. These are Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. According to research carried out by Nissan, the potential growth of the EV market in the region is great, with over 40 percent (on average) of prospective buyers being open to acquiring an electric vehicle.
The Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia did not make the cut for this first expansion batch, but they are the next on the list, especially if everything goes as planned in these new seven countries added to the already impressive list (over 60 markets in total).
Meanwhile, Tesla's expansion into the very EV-friendly Chinese market has hit an obstacle and is stalling, leaving the Californian carmaker to rely on the North American region and, to a smaller degree, Europe for the bulk of its sales.
Regardless of how all this goes and who'll hold the title this time next year, one thing is certain: the EV segment is heating up. And that's before big names such as Volkswagen or Toyota have even entered the fray.
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