Nissan Leaf electric car to hit B.C. in 2011

Nissan's new electric car will be launched in Canada in 2011, beginning with British Columbia, the company announced on Tuesday.

The Leaf will be powered solely by electricity but will have the performance of a V6 family car without the greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Japanese automaker.

The car is expected to be capable of reaching speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour, according to Nissan, making it one of the first all-electric vehicles capable of highway speeds.

The car will be officially launched in 2010 in some markets, then in Canada in 2011 and will be available worldwide by 2012.

The company plans to work with the federal and provincial governments, the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro to have charging facilities in place for the new vehicles.  

In July, Vancouver city council approved new regulations for electric vehicle charging stations. Under the plan, developers must include plug-ins for electric cars in at least 20 per cent of parking stalls in new condominium and apartment buildings, along with some city-owned parking lots.

"We've moved very aggressively to bring in electric vehicle charging infrastructure regulations for Vancouver. That is a first for North America," said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. "The city will need electric vehicles to charge on that new infrastructure."

The carmaker is working with Renault to produce the so-called zero emission vehicles.  

Low-speed electric vehicles, which have legal speed limits of about 40 kilometres per hour, were legalized last year in Vancouver and other B.C. municipalities.