Nissan just announced that they will be launching the Leaf electric vehicle in the Philippines in 2020.
According to the Auto Industriya Facebook page, the confirmation came from Nissan Regional Senior Vice Pr esident, Nissan Motor Asia & Oceania, Yutaka Sanad, at the Nissan Futures event. The event is a motoring symposium where Nissan brings together industry leaders, researchers from the academe, and other subject matter experts to talk about the future of mobility in general. This 2019 Nissan Futures event was held in Hong Kong in conjunction with Nissan’s participation in the all-electric Formula E racing series.
The Nissan Leaf is a fully electric vehicle and is now in its second generation. The best-selling Leaf has been very well received in the markets it is being offered, especially in the US. It has recently surpassed the 400,000 unit mark in sales.
The announcement of the Leaf for the Philippine, as well as Indonesian market is part of the Nissan’s drive to have 25% electric vehicles offered in Asia and Oceania. Nissan Malaysia launched the Leaf just this month.
The Leaf is a fully electric powered vehicle, meaning it has no alternate internal combustion engine like the Hybrid Vehicles, and solely relies on charging equipment and infrastructure unique to BEV or Battery Equipped Vehicles. These facilities for Electric Vehicles still need to be established throughout the country.
In previous press briefings, Nissan executives have stated that the Leaf should have plenty of range for a typical urban runabout, given that the electrical system and its batteries will be built to conform to the tropical weather. But the introduction of the EV’s in the Philippine market is as interesting as it is welcoming, given that stakeholders in the energy and fuel retail sector are starting to work on introducing charging stations around the capital.
Although there is still no news on the market price, being a fully electric vehicle, the Leaf will be 100% exempted from the excise taxes. We therefore expect it to be very competitively priced.