Leaves in Demand

The all electric Nissan Leaf has been pre-ordered by a staggering 56,000 people in America. The car is months away from production and deliveries will begin at the end of this year. Nissan have stated they expect no competition for the Leaf in 2011 as the Mitsubishi iMiev is being produced in smaller numbers and Nissan are planning to make 100,000 electric cars a year by 2012, instead of focussing on petrol/battery hybrids like Toyota and Honda. The Leaf will be priced at approx £22,000 in the US which drops to £17,000 after Government grants. Have a look at the Leaf's finer details here.

Obama Commits to Plug-in Hybrids

A couple of quotes that set out he's serious. Follow the link for the full story:

"It won't come without cost, nor will it be easy."

"We'll do this because we know that the nation that leads on energy will be the nation that leads the world in the 21st century."

Plug-In Hybrid Heading Your Way

A Chinese company has put the world’s first massed-produced, plug-in vehicle on the market.

The BYD F6 can run on a conventional petrol engine or for 62 miles on battery power alone. The batteries can be topped up via a household electrical supply Conventional hybrid cars use a petrol or diesel engine to charge their batteries.
The firm says the F6 model is due to be launched throughout America and Europe in 2011. The car is on sale for 150,000 yuan (£14,000) and has beaten a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius to market.