Hawaii One of the First to See the Nissan Leaf

Nissan has decided to start selling the Leaf, an all electric vehicle in Hawaii, as part of their initial launch in the U.S. beginning in early 2011. Nissan and Hawaii have been working towards a partnership to promote the development of an electric vehicle network. As part of the collaboration, Nissan has committed to make the highly anticipated all-electric Nissan LEAF available to Hawaii consumers.

"We appreciate Nissan's recognition of Hawaii as a global model for electric vehicles and a leader in clean energy," said Governor Linda Lingle. "The introduction of the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle will build on Hawaii's progress to end our state's over-reliance on imported fossil fuels and increase our energy security."

"Nissan is looking forward to bringing the all-electric Nissan LEAF to the people of Hawaii," said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Nissan North America. "Through its work in fostering zero-emissions mobility throughout the state, Hawaii is demonstrating that it is EV-ready. These efforts, along with strong consumer interest, led us to name Hawaii as an early launch market for the Nissan LEAF."

"In response to strong consumer demand and our commitment to electric vehicle networks, we are pleased that Hawaii was selected as one of the first launch states," said Theodore Liu, Director, State Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. "As part of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative's goal of moving towards 70 percent clean energy by 2030, we believe that the introduction and expansion of electric vehicles will give consumers more choices and reduce our state's overdependence on fossil fuels."

At $3.50 per gallon, a car that gets 25 miles per gallon has a fuel cost of 14 cents per mile.
At $0.23 per kilowatt-hour, the Nissan LEAF has a fuel cost of 5 cents per mile.

"I'm looking forward to these vehicles being available," said Ted Peck, Energy Program Administrator, Hawaii State Energy Office. "We've been transforming our buildings to be cleaner, more efficient, and renewable. Now we can transform our cars. This is good for consumers and good for our environment."