First Nissan Leaf Reaches Kanagawa

After nearly a week of receiving word from Japanese manufacturer Nissan about the exploits of its Leaf electric vehicle in the US, news of the first such model to be delivered to the Kanagawa Prefectural Government was made public.

The model delivered this week is the first from a series of ten that will end up under the ownership of the local authorities. As part of the agreements signed over the past two years with the Kanagawa government, six Leafs will be used by the officials themselves, while four others will enter a car rental service which will run under the EV Sharing Model Business program.

"We are pleased to deliver the first Nissan LEAF in Japan to Kanagawa Prefecture, which serves as a model local government supporting EV promotion in Japan. With our global headquarters, R&D and production bases within the prefecture, we strive to be an active member of the community and contribute as much as we can to Kanagawa," said Toshiyuki Shiga, Nissan COO.

The Leafs, which will be used by the government during the week and as rental cars during the weekend, will enter service in the region in the first days of next year. The EVs will be rented through Nissan Rent-a-Car.

Earlier this week, Nissan announced it had partnered with Sumitomo and NEC for the creation of a membership-based charging service in the Kanagawa prefecture. This partnership is meant to accelerate the implementation of a proper charging infrastructure which would allow the Leaf to secure a beach head in the region in light of future mass deployment.