Nissan Leaf, Charged in Portugal

No less than three premieres took place in Portugal yesterday, when the first Nissan Leaf in the country was plugged into the country's first electric vehicle charging station for the first time. The event took place near the Park of Nations in Lisbon, where Prime Minister Jose Socrates drove and charged Nissan's EV.

The star-charging station in Lisbon will be followed in the next few months by 1,299 others which will be installed by MOBI.E Tech, a local charging station consortium. By 2011, the EV charging network in Portugal will have reached 25 cities across the country.

After the countless reports of the Renault-Nissan alliance signing partnerships with communities, agencies and companies around the world, the Lisbon event is among the first to take a more material shape.

The partnership between the Renault-Nissan alliance and MOBI.E Tech was signed this May, with the goal to supply EV owners with charging stations located in public car parks, shopping centers, hotels, airports and even gasoline stations.

The Nissan Leaf, which can accommodate five adults, can run for 100 miles (160 km) on a full charge. The car is powered by laminated compact lithium-ion batteries that manage to develop 90 kW, while its electric motors produce 80 kW/280 Nm of torque.

The battery can be brought up to 80 percent of its capacity in just 30 minutes thanks to a new charging system developed by Nissan thanks, but it will take 8 hours to bring the battery to full capacity from a 200V home outlet.

In Portugal, following the EUR5,000 government incentives, the vehicle is priced at EUR29,955.