Nissan Leaf
When climate change is pondered, cars and carmakers are usually seen as part of the problem. Nissan, however, has been added to the 2019 CDP A-List for its climate change leadership.
CDP is a non-profit organisation that focusses on building economic stability, and climate change is recognised as the major threat to global economic stability.
Nissan was included in this prestigious list for its eco-friendly powertrains and its leadership in fighting climate change through its practices, philosophy and engineering initiatives.
Green practices, philosophy and initiatives are important but difficult to see. Rather more visible are its vehicles, most notably the Nissan Leaf.
The Leaf was launched in 2010 and is to date the best-selling electric vehicle. It won “2018 World Green Car” for the World Car Awards, and in 2019 it won both Best Electric Vehicle and Electric Car of the Year.
Nissan has just introduced the next generation 2020 Leaf, with a range of 365km from its 62kWh battery. So it can go fast and far, but it also boasts the latest in Nissan safety technology. Examples are automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot warning, rear automatic braking, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane change warning and blind-spot collision intervention.
The Nissan Ariya concept shows the way of electric things to come. Introduced at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show and CES 2020, the Ariya is an all-electric crossover SUV. It packed with technology and features that promise a brand new driving experience just over the horizon. “This zero-emission crossover isn’t a concept car based on far-off ideas; it’s a showcase of technologies available in the very near term,” explained Nissan senior vice president Takao Asami.
While building green cars is admirable and a visible demonstration of green philosophy, being kind to the planet requires much more. Every large corporation engages in vast works and the way they approach these can make or break their environmental impact.
“Nissan is committed to establishing a new level of cooperative relationship with our business partners and other stakeholders, and to accelerate our efforts toward the realization of a more sustainable mobility society,” Nissan Corporate Vice President Tsuyoshi Tatsumi said at a reporting session for the CDP 2019 Japan Report.
