The Nissan Leaf has been named the 2011 European Car of the Year, the first time the award has gone to an electric car.
The Leaf beat 40 contenders including runners-up Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Opel Meriva to win the award. The jury included 57 motoring journalists from 23 European countries.
Hakan Matson, the award jury president, said: “The jury acknowledged that the Leaf is a breakthrough for electric cars.”. The car has a range of more than 160km and LED headlights. The Leaf will go on sale in Japan and the United States starting in December and in selected markets in Europe early next year.
Nissan last won the European Car of the Year award in 1993 with the Micra subcompact.
It is nice to see Nissan being rewarded for their brave 5 billion euro bet on EVs. The head of the Car of the Year jury called the Leaf “a breakthrough for electric cars.”
That victory comes without any real-life feedback on the Leaf. It is quietly impossible to have an objective feedback on lighting performance…yet.
