From Tama to LEAF, Nissan Has Been Championing EV Mobility
February 26, 2023Driving an electric car seems to be the “in” thing these days. It’s seen as a badge of honor for people who believe they’re fighting the good fight against climate change. But contrary to popular belief, EVs aren’t new to the automotive world. In fact, they’ve been around for about 100 years. It’s just that internal combustion engine (ICE) cars were cheaper and more practical to use.
However, the advancement in technology has tipped the scales in the EV’s favor. Shorter recharge times and longer overall range have made them a practical mode of transportation. Nissan is an EV pioneer that’s here for the long haul. It’s positioned itself as a champion of electric mobility since before it was “cool” to do so.
In 1947, it introduced the Tama, the company’s first zero-emission EV. It was introduced as Nissan’s answer to petrol shortages in Japan at the time. The vehicle was a practical runabout that seated 4 and offered a range of 100km. In total, 1,100 of them were built.
Over the years, Nissan continued to invest in the EV sector and draw on years of experience to refine the technology. In 1996, it had an electric vehicle that used a lithium-ion battery pack that offered a range of 200km. Though commonplace today, these batteries were considered cutting-edge at the time.
Despite the feat, EVs were still seen as a proof-of-concept and not ready for primetime. But the advent of cars like the Nissan LEAF changed that perception. Instead of looking futuristic and confusing to operate, the car hit the market as a “no nonsense”, practical mode of transportation that happens to run on electricity.
As it is for anything that’s new and unfamiliar, resistance from the masses was inevitable. Skeptics spewed unsubstantiated claims about their practicality. Fears surrounding the possible electrocution of users attempting to operate A LEAF’s charging cable in the rain were proven to be unfounded.
Nissan built-in enough protective measures into the charging system that even if rain fell on the cable and around the charging port, no harm would come to said user. There was enough necessary insulation to keep it safe enough to use in such weather conditions.
Though far from a hot hatch, the LEAF offered decent acceleration and moderate handling dynamics. It was able to seat five, looked like an econobox and worked just like a regular hatchback. There was no learning curve to speak of, instead you had a steering wheel, push start “ignition” button and an oddly shaped gear lever. It made the jump to an EV easy.
For city dwellers, the range of between 120km to 160km was acceptable provided that you lived within range of a proper EV charging infrastructure. But recharging was fairly easy to do and it could even be done at home. Over the years, Nissan has steadily improved the car to offer better efficiency and longer ranges between charges.
The advent of faster charging technology and faculties have seen charging times reduce considerably. What seemed like ages to recharge, could now be done in little over an hour. In fact, modern day EVs like the LEAF can regain 80% of their battery capacities after being plugged in for an hour.
To date, Nissan has sold more than 600,000 EVs to customers in 59 markets, which includes Malaysia. It’s a testament to their practicality. It’s inevitable that in the coming years, we will see more of them replacing ICE vehicles as our preferred mode of transportation.
