Nissan PH’s push for electrification will start with the LEAF

The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines recently hosted the 7th EV summit held in the SMX convention center. This year’s theme was “Modernizing the Transport Landscape: Driving sustainable growth.” Notable car manufacturers that showcased Electric Vehicles (EVs) were Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai. 

Nissan had a right-hand drive LEAF EV on display at the event, giving the Philippine market a taste of what could be on our roads in 2020.

Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) is set to bring in its LEAF EV next year. There is no confirmed exact release date, however. NPI is still in talks with the government about incentives for its EVs. The same can be said for infrastructure support for these EVs. Najima-san could not release information based on assumptions so nothing is set if NPI is going to help or be helped by the government to push for the viability of EVs in the country. One thing is for sure – the LEAF will be excise tax exempt.

Before NPI brings in the LEAF EV, however, it wants to gather resources first and then gather customer expectations in order to gauge if the company can meet them later on. In line with this, NPI wants to make sure that the LEAF is a success first before bringing in other EVs and hybrids into the Philippine market, according to Najima-san. This means the future of other Nissan EVs or hybrids in the country will depend on the reception of Filipino buyers to the LEAF EV.

Product specs of the LEAF remain unknown at least until its official launch next year. There is no official word yet on what kind of built-in chargers or what kind of charging station Nissan will bring in for the Philippine market LEAF. The same goes for the battery but choices for the US spec LEAF are a 40kwh and 63kwh. Expect the driving range to be between 241kms to 364kms, similar to that of the US variant. That's pretty close to the distance from Manila to Baguio for the lower capacity battery.