In the process of getting there, Nissan has opened up a dialogue with its owners to help facilitate their early adoption of the car, and is working across the country to significantly increase charging facilities.

The car’s best sales month came just a couple months ago in March with 2,236 units sold, and last month’s 1,937 sold gave the Leaf its second-best month and a 423.5-percent year-over-year increase.

“From the beginning our goal with Leaf has been to bring affordable, zero-emission transportation to the mass market in a practical, fun-to-drive package,” said Erik Gottfried, Nissan director of electric vehicle (EV) marketing and sales strategy. “With more than 25,000 Leafs in the U.S. and 62,000 around the world, we’re seeing the adoption curve for EVs accelerate, and there is tremendous interest not only on the West Coast but in a number of new strongholds like Atlanta, Raleigh, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, St. Louis and many more.”

The first wave of people who are buying the Leaf are among the most well educated and informed people to be found. The car has spurred an active, connected, and of course growing community of owners who’ve jumped into the EV waters, with many saying they are comfortable with their choice.

Objections by those who are either neutral or opposed to electric cars include extended charging times and outright lack of infrastructure, and Nissan has been working on this as well.

“Nissan is taking a three-prong approach to bolster infrastructure by working with commercial charging partners to bring a variety of charging options to our customers, collaborating with businesses to encourage workplace charging on their campuses and engaging in pilots with our dealers to determine how to optimize the role they can play in EV infrastructure,” said Brendan Jones, Nissan’s director of EV infrastructure strategy and deployment. “This enhanced infrastructure—particularly with more businesses offering workplace charging as an employee benefit—builds range confidence and gives EV drivers better end-to-end charging ability, meaning they can leave home fully charged, plug in at work and be charged when they leave.”

Aside from the obvious need for placing more chargers where higher numbers of EVs are concentrated, Jones noted the company has found simply adding chargers to a given area is also a spur for sales. It is a new take on the “If we build it, they will come” adage.

Nissan has already installed about 50 additional chargers in the U.S. where concentrations are highest, and this is just the beginning, it says.

In January this year, Nissan announced plans within 12-18 months from that time to triple the number of EV quick chargers from 200 to 600.

The post 25,000 Nissan Leafs On US Roads And Counting appeared first on HybridCars.com.

Ford announced yesterday that its Transit commercial van will come to market with a new clean-diesel engine, on top of the already announced EcoBoost V6. These engines will allow the new Transit to achieve at least 25 percent better fuel economy than current E-Series vans it replaces.

In addition to the new Transit, certain E-Series body styles will continue to be available through most of the decade in North America, even after the U.S.-built Transit goes on sale.

Production of the new Ford Transit cargo and passenger vans will start in Kansas City in 2013. Ford managed to keep the weight down and the new Transit will be at least 300 pounds lighter than the current E-Series.

We will keep you updated as soon as we learn what the specifications of the new diesel engine will be.

In speaking to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit today, Kevin Koswick, director, North American Fleet, Lease and Remarketing Operations for Ford said the company is committed to continuing to provide customers a range of options to reduce their operating costs. He said Ford will offer a lineup of industry-leading fuel-efficient engines and alternative-fuel technologies, including EcoBoost, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery-electric, biodiesel and CNG/LPG.

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Yesterday, the City of San Francisco celebrated achievement of goals set by its 2008 Green Taxi law aimed at curbing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2012.

These standards were set using 1990 levels as the baseline, and having hit the target of becoming the “Greenest Taxi City in America,” former city Taxi Commission President Paul Gillespie noted the city’s strong commitment.

“Cutting global carbon dioxide emissions is one of the most crucial issues of our time,” Gillespie said, “and the San Francisco taxi experience has shown that taking aggressive, collaborative action at the local level can be both profitable and effective.”

The accomplishment came also thanks to Ford, which announced with a press release that 67 percent of San Francisco’s “green” taxi fleet is made up of Ford vehicles, noting also its taxis are popular also in other major metro areas.

As for taxis on the streets of San Francisco, Ford said they have now cut annual gasoline consumption by 2.9 million gallons, and annual emissions by 35,000 tons.

The standard Ford Transit Connect – 2010 North American Truck of the Year – features a 2.0-liter I-4 engine that gets 22 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway, an estimated 30 percent improvement in fuel economy compared with traditional taxis.

CNG-powered Transit Connect Taxis, for example, are available and soon will hit the streets of San Francisco. CNG-powered Transit Connect Taxis are being used in other parts of the country as well, servicing places such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas and St. Louis.

The estimated fuel economy of a CNG-powered Transit Connect Taxi is the same as the standard gasoline version. However, operating costs are lower because the cost of a gasoline gallon equivalent of CNG is roughly half the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline. In addition to CNG, Transit Connect Taxi is available with an engine preparation package for conversion to liquefied propane gas (LPG).

CNG has been a popular choice for fleet and taxi companies for years because it’s readily accessible, doesn’t require extensive modifications to vehicles, and also costs (in terms of a gallon) around half the price of regular gasoline.

According to Ford, instead of the once-ubiquitous Crown Victoria however, vehicles such as the Ford Transit Connect are increasingly popular. This small commercial van is imported from Europe and has proven quite successful as a next-generation taxi.

In fact, some Transit Connects have been designed to run on CNG with fuel economy comparable to their gas-fueled counterparts, though with 22 mpg city/27 mpg highway, that results in a 30-perceent fuel mileage improvement compared to a Crown Vic.

In addition, a conversion package is also available to fleet buyers allowing the vans to run on Liquified Propane Gas, a common alternative fuel source for fleets in Europe.

These announcements come also as Ford, like many other automakers, hedges its green car bets between electrified vehicles and vehicles that can make use of CNG.

Ford is also using this same van in electrification projects, as perhaps you’ve seen with the Ford Transit Electric, but this week it was the natural gas version that was in the spotlight.

This “all of the above” approach is also in lockstep with government policymakers also hoping to wean away from petroleum dependence, and CNG represents a major possibility yet in the alternative energy shakeout process as we head into the future.

The post San Francisco Is The 'Greenest Taxi City in America' appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The First “Green Halo” Truck

When a car company produces a “halo car,” it can transform and transcend an entire brand or class of vehicles. In this era of high-tech eco-friendly automotive technologies, the halo has taken a decisively green tint. Witness the Toyota Prius, which until very recently, has been the single green halo car of the 21st century. With the introduction of the Ford Transit Connect Electric, unveiled at this week’s Chicago Auto Show, Ford may have produced the first halo truck.

The small footprint delivery-style truck, which won Truck of the Year at last month’s Detroit auto show, is a proven global success. Ford has sold more than 655,000 of the combustion engine Transit Connect since coming to market in 2003. The size and style of the truck, ideally suited to small businesses and fleets, fills a niche that has been neglected in the United States. Perhaps more importantly, the Transit Connect Electric, as a pure electric vehicle, is well suited for commercial fleets that travel predictable, short-range routes with frequent stop-and-go driving in urban and suburban environments and a central location for daily recharging.

When you combine the functionality and solid track record of the Transit Connect platform, with the built-in marketing opportunities for small businesses to emblazon the large exterior panels with green slogans such as “Zero-Emissions” and “100 percent electric,” it makes for a compelling package.

The Ford Transit Connect Electric also demonstrates the company’s focused strategy to use existing global vehicles, and to roll out hybrid and electric versions in those models as quickly as possible. Ford executives declined to answer questions from HybridCars.com about whether the company would ever introduce a unique nameplate or design for a hybrid or electric car—only responding that nothing has been ruled out.

EV as Small Company Marketing Edge

To bring the Ford Transit Connect Electric to market, Ford tapped Azure Dynamics Corporation for the 55-kilowatt electric drivetrain system, which uses a sizable 600-pound 28-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack from Johnson Controls-Saft. The vehicle has a 75 mile per hour top speed and can drive up to 80 miles on a charge—perfectly fine for the needs of a local delivery cycle.

We had a chance to drive the vehicle at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. Like other electric vehicles, it provides peppy, smooth and silent acceleration—which is almost generic for electric-drive vehicles. Azure and Ford are still tuning up the steering, which is currently tighter than engineers would like. The prototype’s instrumental panel and other features also need some adjustment, but the vehicles is very much on track for introduction later this year. The vehicle delivers on what Ford promises as car-like driving dynamics, combined with cargo capacity and accessibility. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but expect a hefty price tag, considering the size of the lithium ion battery pack. Businesses willing to pull from their marketing budgets to demonstrate green-ness will probably jump on the opportunity, while budget-oriented fleet buyers might be daunted by the cost.

Given the economics, production volume will be modest for the first couple of years—about 1,000 vehicles per year, according to Azure Dynamics’s Ron Iacobell. The Transit Connect Electric will be hitting the market about the same time as other electric-drive cars, most notably the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. Those cars will be grabbing most of the headlines. Meanwhile, the Transit Connect will give Ford a big head start in the electric commercial fleet space. It will also be a persuasive demonstration that the company can deliver on its electrification plans using winning global platforms, key strategic partnerships, and a passion for cutting-edge green technology.

“With interest in eco-friendly vehicles stronger than ever among commercial and government fleet operators, the Transit Connect Electric promises to offer another unique solution for their needs,” said Gerry Koss, Ford fleet marketing manager.

Ford will follow the introduction of the Transit Connect Electric in late 2010 with the roll out of the Ford Focus Electric in 2011.

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