Nissan Australia Gearing Up For 2012 Leaf Launch

Nissan Australia this week came a step closer to the local launch of its all-electric Leaf hatch, with the installation of charging stations at its Victorian headquarters.

Working in partnership with ChargePoint, an electric vehicle recharge network supplier, Nissan's Dandenong office now has two CT2000 charge points and a single CT500 fleet charging station.

The 32 Amp, 'level two' (240V AC) fixed-cable charging stations will not only charge the Leaf's lithium-ion battery pack, but can also share diagnostic information with the vehicle while charging.

The charging points are available to Nissan staff driving Leaf vehicles ahead of its wider market launch, and also to visiting participants of the Leaf test fleet. 

The stations have the ability to provide a service to a wide range of users,” Nissan Australia CEO and MD, Dan Thompson said. "It will simply be a case of swiping your ChargePass card and plugging in your Nissan LEAF."

ChargePoint says that its three recharging stations at Nissan are the first 'level two' charge points to be installed in Australasia.

The news of Nissan's new charging points follows confirmation this week that the Japanese carmaker has delivered 16 of its Nissan Leaf EVs to the Victorian Government, as part of the state's five-year EV trial.

Victoria's EV trial will see 180 households take part in a pilot programme to test the feasability of electric vehicles and the necessary charging infrastructure.