2004 Nissan Altima S Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan sells 100,000 Leaf EVs worldwide

Nissan sold 22,610 Leaf electric vehicles in the US last year, but the bigger story (literally) is how the company is selling the EV around the world. After selling the 99,999th Leaf to a woman in Virginia, Nissan sold the 100,000th Leaf to a man named Brett Garner in the UK. For the record, it took Nissan just about three years and one month to reach that mark, since the first Leafs were sold in December 2010. On a global scale, Nissan says the Leaf has a 45 percent market share among all the electric vehicles available. The car is available in 35 countries, but the bulk - as of the end of December, 42,122 units - have been sold in the US. That 99,999th Leaf was sold to Amy Eichenberger, a project manager overseeing major capital investments for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (pictured below). Garner owns a dental practice in Fareham. You can read their gushing quotes about their new EVs in the Nissan press releases below. If you add in all of the electric vehicles that Nissan and partner Renault have sold (90,000 as of March, the last time official numbers were available), then the 100,000 was topped a while ago. Of course, electric vehicles remain a small portion of Nissan's global sales. In fiscal 2012, Nissan sold 4.9 million vehicles around the world. Still, 100,000 Leafs out of 4.9 million cars is far better than zero. Nissan LEAF global sales reach 100,000 units Nissan LEAF is best-selling EV in history with 45% market share The 100,000th customer is a British dentist After revolutionizing passenger vehicle segment Nissan is electrifying LCVs with the e-NV200 YOKOHAMA, Japan (January 20, 2014) – The 100,000th all-electric Nissan LEAF is being bought by a customer in the United Kingdom. The Nissan LEAF, the world's first mass-produced zero emissions vehicle, remains the best-selling EV in history with a 45% market share. Since its launch in December 2010 Nissan has seen the pace of sales increase consistently and 2013 was a record year. The LEAF is now available to customers in 35 countries on four continents. In Norway, the Nissan LEAF topped sales charts, out-selling conventional gasoline powered vehicles in October 2013. The 100,000th Nissan LEAF customer is Dr. Brett Garner, the owner of a dental practice in Fareham in the UK. "I have chosen my Nissan LEAF because I am very interested in its running costs," Dr. Garner said. "The cost of ownership such as maintenance, insurance and charging also convinced my wife.

Infiniti's new Design Director is American Alfonso Albaisa

The man responsible for creating the sleek 2010 Nissan Ellure Concept you see above is now the design director for Infiniti. Alfonso Albaisa (shown at right) has been a member of the Nissan design team for 25 years, but was recently promoted to executive design director for the Infiniti brand.
His past roles at Nissan have included design director for Nissan from 2004 to 2007, vice president of Nissan Design Europe from 2007 to 2011, vice president of Nissan Design America in 2011 and, most recently, he held the title of Nissan's global design director. Aside from Ellure, Albaisa was also responsible for designing the 2012 Nissan Xtrem Concept, "key strategic production vehicles soon to be launched" and he's even contributed to a handful of Infiniti designs. Scroll down for the official press release.

Nissan recalling 909k vehicles globally over accelerator issue

Nissan is issuing a massive recall that will see the Japanese automaker repair 908,900 vehicles worldwide, with nearly 100,000 of the affected models in the United States. While an official recall notice from Nissan or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not yet available, Reuters has been able to confirm the recall with Nissan.
Nissan's recall is kind of the opposite of the Toyota unintended acceleration, in that it covers a lack of acceleration. According to the report, a sensor in the gas pedal can develop faults, leading to a sluggish acceleration or an outright stall regardless of how much throttle the driver dials in. The huge recall covers mostly Japanese domestic models like the Serena, X-Trail, Lafesta and Fuga, which make up for 764,800 of the 908,900 faulty vehicles. However, 98,300 Infiniti M sedans are being recalled in the US, although it's unclear at this time which model years and trims are affected. The remaining vehicles are found in Europe and Oceania, according to Nissan spokesman Chris Keefe.
No injuries or accidents have been reported due to the faults. The 90-minute repair will see techs replace the accelerator pedal and tweak the engine control programs. We'll update this story as soon as Nissan or NHTSA makes an official statement.