Nissan to sell electric car 'Leaf' in China in '11

Shanghai, September 8 (Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor unveiled its zero-emission electric car "Leaf" on April 2, and is planning to import the Leaf model to the Chinese market in 2011, Chinese media reported today. Nissan's China venture Dongfeng Nissan may produce the Leaf later.
 
The Nissan Leaf will be the first model of the electric vehicle series to be made by Nissan Motor. Japan's No. 3 automaker and its French partner, Renault SA, have been the most aggressive proponents of pure electric vehicles in the auto industry, planning to mass-market the clean but expensive zero-emission cars globally in 2012.

Nissan will begin selling the first Leaf cars in the United States and Japan in the second half of 2010, to add more models in rapid succession. In 2011, Dongfeng Nissan will import the Leaf cars to China for sale, and the joint venture will produce the Leaf model if the Chinese market demand is rising. 

Toyota Motor and Volkswagen also plan to launch electric cars in the next several years. Chinese carmakers BYD Auto and Chery Auto have already unveiled their own-brand electric cars, with BYD's F3DM to go on mass sale later this month, and Chery's S18 model to sell in mid-2010.

Nissan's Leaf will have a cruising range of 160km (100 miles) and a top speed of over 140 km/hour (76 mph) on a single battery charge. It is scheduled to start mass-production for global sale by 2012.