The Nissan Leaf is coming to Piedmont Nissan of Anderson, South Carolina - as well as dealerships around the world. It was just announced that 2012 models of Leaf will hit 7 more states, but soon you will be able to drive one anywhere on the globe.

The auto maker plans to make their all electric hatchback available worldwide. Pierre Loing, VP of product planning and zero-emission business at Nissan International, "believes zero-emission vehicles will account for 10 percent of global vehicle sales by 2020." Loing also predicts Nissan Leaf will grab "a significant share" of the global market.¹

Nissan feels Leaf is the first mass-market electric vehicle. 15,000 have already been sold globally since late 2010. That includes 8000 in the US, 6000 in Japan, 1000 in Europe.

Loing added Nissan has very high ambitions for the Leaf, setting up a factory with maximum annual capacity of 200,000 units. It also plans on establishing a Leaf plant in the UK, which will have an annual capacity of 50,000 units.

Nissan states that owning a Leaf is less expensive over the years than a gas or diesel powered ride.

Source: ¹http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/leaf-will-be-a-player-in-world-market-1.1159350