Nissan Leaf electric car priced at less than £25,000

Nissan plans to undercut the price of the Mitsubishi i-Miev and sell its Leaf five-seater electric car in Japan for £24,500 – £28,000 (Y3m-Y4m) according to the leading Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun.

The i-Miev is currently priced at around £32,200 (Y4.6m)

If the Leaf keeps a price of £24,500 when it arrives in Britain it will cost less than £20,000 when the government electric car grant of £5,000 is taken into account.

The Leaf is to be the world’s first mass-produced electric car and is eagerly awaited in Japan, Europe and America where it launches this autumn.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf has been pre-ordered by over 56,000 people in America – a situation that may lead to a waiting list for new cars when deliveries start at the end of this year.

Nissan has said that it plans to make 100,000 electric cars a year by 2012. The company is gambling on a future car market dominated by electric vehicles rather than the petrol/battery hybrids currently sold by its rivals, Toyota and Honda.

Stiff competition for Prius

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “At £19,500, including the £5,000 government electric car grant, the Nissan Leaf would provide stiff competition for the Toyota Prius.”

• Electric car recharging will be wireless