Nissan on Sunday, May 9, launched its flagship full-battery electric vehicle (EV), the Nissan LEAF in the Philippines for P2.8 million.

The car is the first fully electric vehicle that Nissan is bringing to local shores. There have been hybrid cars launched in the Philippines in the past, but mass market EVs have been rare.

Nissan announced the LEAF will be available in 3 dealerships: Nissan Mantrade Makati, Nissan Otis, and Nissan Cebu South – V. Rama. These dealerships will be equipped with charging stations for the LEAF. Four more dealerships will be fitted with a charging station within the year. This, Nissan says, will create the largest nationwide EV charging station in the country.

The LEAF has a 40-kWh lithium-ion battery, which translates to a range of up to 311 kilometers on a full charge, according to official numbers provided by Nissan.

“This is the equivalent of traveling between Quezon City and Bonifacio Global City twice a day for five days for a daily commute, or a one-way out of town trip to Baguio,” the car company said in a press statement.

The car’s all-electric powertrain provides a maximum 148 horsepower, and 320 Nm of torque. The car goes zero to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds and a top speed of 140 km/h.

Charging the LEAF at home through a dedicated wall outlet takes 15 to 18 hours, but quick charging stations found in Nissan dealerships can fully charge the car in 40 to 60 minutes.

Bringing the LEAF to the Philippines is part of Nissan’s “electrification strategy in ASEAN” and to “make electrified mobility more accessible to the people in the region,” said regional vice president for Nissan ASEAN Isao Sekiguchi.

The first LEAF was launched in 2010. In 2020, Nissan announced its second mass-market EV, the Ariya. – Rappler.com