Nissan to boost U.S. Leaf shipments after slow launch

[DainBramaged]

Nissan Motor Co. will pick up the pace for deliveries of the electric Leaf sedan in the United States, despite production headaches across Japan due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and will begin accepting new orders for the car.

Acknowledging that only 500 Leafs have been delivered to customers since last December, Nissan Americas Chairman Carlos Tavares said today the company expects to go from “delivering cars in the hundreds to delivering them in the thousands.”

He said the Leaf’s assembly line in Oppama, Japan, is now nearing 100 percent full production speed. That should have occurred in March, but the entire Japanese industry was set back by the March 11 earthquake.

The precarious launch of the eagerly anticipated electric vehicle has drawn criticism from EV skeptics. Speaking at the New York auto show, Tavares acknowledged that customers have been frustrated by the lengthy wait for their cars.



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