At the tail end of the journey towards this year’s World car of the Year awards, Nissan Leaf received the crown as the greenest Car on earth. The declaration was announced on Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show.
Nissan LEAF won the overall World Car of the Year title in 2011 while the Nissan GT-R won the 2009 World Performance Car award.
“We’re very proud that since Nissan LEAF launched in 2010, we’ve been able to put more than 300,000 zero-emission electric vehicles on the road worldwide, helping to reduce carbon footprints around the globe,” said Daniele Schillaci, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Sales, Zero Emission Vehicle and Battery Business; Chairman of Management Committee for Japan/A&O (Japan, Asia, Oceania Business); Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.,. “We’re honored to be recognized by this esteemed jury and proud to continue to expand the vision of Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”
The NISSAN LEAF was chosen from an initial entry list of four new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of three finalists as announced in Geneva earlier this month: the BMW 530e iPerformance, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Nissan LEAF.
To be eligible for the 2018 World Green Car award, a vehicle had to be all-new, or substantially revised, in production and introduced for sale or lease to the public in quantities of at least 10 in at least one major market during the period beginning January 1, 2017 and ending May 31, 2018. Tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use of a major advanced power plant technology (beyond engine componentry), aimed specifically at increasing the vehicle’s environmental responsibility, were all taken into consideration.
Previous World Green Car winners were: the Toyota Prius Prime (2017), the Toyota Mirai (2016), the BMWi8 (2015) and the BMW i3 (2014), then the Tesla Model S (2013), the Mercedes-Benz S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY (2012), the Chevrolet Volt (2011), the Volkswagen BlueMotion (2010), the Honda FCX Clarity (2009), the BMW 118d with Efficient Dynamics (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).
