All-New, All-Electric Nissan LEAF Launched In Malaysia; Leasing Option Available

L-R: Dato’ Rosie Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Chong Motor Holdings Sdn Bhd; Ms Ayako Nakamura, Vice President, Business Operation, Asia & Oceania Region, Nissan Motor Asia Pacific Co., Ltd.; Mr Christopher Tan, Sales & Marketing Director, Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd; Mr Vincent Wijnen, Senior Vice President, Asia & Oceania Region, Nissan Motor Asia Pacific Co., Ltd

The Nissan Leaf is the best-selling electric vehicle (EV) in the world, with over 400,000 on the roads globally clocking a combined total of 10 billion kilometers. In 2012, Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM) introduced the first generation Nissan LEAF to Malaysia, exposing and educating Malaysians to a car powered by an alternative energy source. With more Malaysian consumers exposed to electrified vehicles over the years, ETCM decided to launch the second generation all-electric LEAF here.

L-R: Mr Christopher Tan; Mr Vincent Wijnen; Mr Noriaki Kubo, Managing Director of Nichicon Malaysia Sdn Bhd; Mr Hiroshi Seki, Business Group Leader of Nichicon Corporation; Mr Shiro Kutsuzawa, Managing Director of Nichicon Singapore Pte Ltd.

The all-new LEAF is priced at RM188,888 (on the road without insurance for private registration in Pen. Malaysia). It is covered by a 3-year (or 100,000 km) vehicle warranty, a 3-year (or 60,000 km) maintenance and service package, as well as an 8-year (or 160,000 km) lithium-ion battery warranty. To reduce concerns of the battery range, as well as to provide added perks to Leaf buyers, ETCM is offering LEAF owners complimentary use of a choice of MPV (Serena), SUV (X-Trail) and pick-up (Navara) for 23 days a year for the first three years of ownership. Alternatively, you can opt to lease the LEAF on a 3-year contract for RM3,500 a month.

“The introduction of the second generation of the world’s best-selling electric vehicle marks the next step in Nissan’s commitment to accelerate electrification across the region. More than 400,000 customers worldwide have chosen the Nissan LEAF. It is a testament to Nissan’s vision for the future of mobility, which we believe will help move people to a better world – a world that is more electric, more connected and more autonomous. And we believe that the all-new Nissan LEAF will transform the way Malaysians drive and live,” said Vincent Wijnen, Senior Vice President, Nissan Asia & Oceania. The all-new LEAF features a new diamond-inspired holographic “grille”, boomerang-style LED daytime running lights, headlights and rear combination lights, 17″ diamond-cut Turbine alloy wheels, and an option for two-tone ‘floating’ roof.

Inside, you get a flat-bottom leather steering wheel, 7″ multi-info display, Alcantara leather seats and climate control timer. It also has a 435-litre boot that expands to 1,176 litres.

The Nissan Safety Shield features included in the LEAF are forward collision warning, forward emergency braking, driver alertness, intelligent ride control, trace control, hill start assist, vehicle dynamic control, anti-lock braking system with brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, and surround view monitor with moving object detection, as well as six airbags.

The LEAF is the icon of the Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision which incorporates the Nissan Intelligent Power, Nissan Intelligent Driving and Nissan Intelligent Integration solutions. The car is powered by an electric motor that generates 150 PS and 320 Nm of torque. This allows for a 0 – 100 km/h acceleration of 7.9 seconds as maximum torque comes in instantaneously.

Providing the energy is a 40 kWh Li-ion battery pack which sits in the chassis and gives the car a lower centre of gravity for better stability and handling. The battery pack can be charged with a 6.6 kW (Type 1) wall box charger which comes with the vehicle purchase (ETCM is planning to have the Type 2 connector available in the near future), or a 50 kW CHAdeMO fast charger. It takes approximately 7 hours to fully charge the battery using the regular wall box charger, and about one hour with the fast charger. Fast charging is recommended for providing a top-up on long-range drives and is not to be used on a daily basis due to the strain it puts on the battery. FYI, CHAdeMO is an association made up of Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Tokyo Electric Power Company that established a standard for direct current (DC) fast charging.

The CHAdeMO fast chargers are currently available for free usage at ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Subang Jaya), Nichicon (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Bandar Baru Bangi), and PLUS Ayer Keroh R&R (Melaka, southbound), with more locations planned. Meanwhile, the 6.6 kWh chargers are also available for use at 17 ETCM outlets nationwide, with more on the way.

The battery level after some very enthusiastic driving around the state.

On a full charge, the LEAF has a range of approximately 311 km, based on the ECE R101 New European Driving Cycle, so if your daily commute is about 100 km you can technically get away with not charging for three days. ETCM is considering bringing in the larger capacity 60 kWh variant in the future. The driving range is dependent on factors like traffic conditions, weather, etc and incidentally, Nissan had put the LEAF through quality and durability tests including flood and lightning tests to ensure safety. As the circuitry is sealed and weatherproofed, the Leaf can be safely charged in the rain. Thus far, the in-house developed battery has not had a recall.

Getting electricity from the Nissan LEAF via the Nichicon Power Mover and step down transformer to make ice kacang and recharge smartphones.

The Nissan LEAF is also designed with bi-directional charging so that the car can be a mobile power source. Using Nichicon’s world’s first mass produced Vehicle-to-Home EV Power Station or its Power Mover carryable discharger, an electrified vehicle like the LEAF can be used as a power source to supply electricity for lighting and appliances. And while this is relatively unheard of here, V2H charging has been used in Japan as a power source after natural disasters. In certain countries, V2H is also an accepted form of electricity supply management i.e. power the home in the day during peak hours / tariffs to reduce load to the grid and save cost, and recharge at night when demand and tariffs are low. ETCM and Nissan aim to engage with the Malaysia government and business sectors on the benefits of this technology.

The e-Pedal function in the LEAF allows the driver to accelerate, decelerate, and stop by manipulating the pressure on just one pedal i.e. the throttle / accelerator pedal. It takes just a bit of learning on our test drive to sense how the car moves, slows down, stops or holds itself on a slope, to effectively use just one pedal during the drive. But if you prefer to drive it like a conventional automatic vehicle, you can opt not to engage e-Pedal to use both the throttle and brake pedals. “Available in a single high-spec premium grade, the all-new Nissan LEAF is technologically advanced, contemporary in its design, and is extremely fun to drive,” commented Christopher Tan, ETCM Sales & Marketing Director.

The LEAF is available in the following colour choices:

Two-tone exterior: Pearl White (body) / Deep Blue Pearl (roof); Magnetic Red (body) / Super Black (roof)

Single-tone exterior: Brilliant Silver; Super Black; Gun Metal Grey; Deep Blue Pearl

Interior colour: Graphite Black; Stone Grey

The Nissan LEAF will be at the following ETCM showrooms this weekend:

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Keyword: All-New, All-Electric Nissan LEAF Launched In Malaysia; Leasing Option Available