The Nissan Leaf is proving the validity of the electric car market by becoming one of the most hotly pre-ordered cars in production. The total pre-orders in the USA and Japan currently total 20% of the Leafs (yes, surprisingly that is the correct plural) first production run, many are hoping that this is going to open the somewhat sluggish eyes of the automotive industry and result in a boost of 100% electric cars over the next few years.

The Leafs main rivals will of course be the Toyota Prius and the Chevy Volt, both hybrid electric cars rather than pure electric. Toyota has been very public about its belief that the world is not ready for a “range limited” electric car and won’t be offering a plug-in version of the Prius until next year, even then we will only be looking at a 13 mile range on batteries alone. The Chevy Volt will offer plug-in capabilities and has a range of 40 miles (give or take) on it’s lithium-ion battery pack. The Volt comes in at $32,500 after federal tax credits which pitch it ahead of the Leaf which is selling for $25,000 after that same tax credit.

It does appear that Nissan’s electric vehicle strategy is paying off in a big way, we won’t know until next year for sure but it does appear that they have tapped into the same market that made the EV1 such a runaway success all those years ago. Right before GM killed it and proceeded to bankrupt itself making a few other, similarly not-so-brilliant decisions. Perhaps not too surprisingly, Nissan stock (NQB: NSAN.Y) has been rising slowly over the past week, it’ll be interesting to see where it goes from here.

If you’d like to grab a Leaf, head over to the main Nissan site and hit the pre-order button.

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Nissan Leaf Specifications and Price

Base Price – $32,780 (not including $7,500 tax credit)

Dimensions

Length: 4445 mm / 175.0 in.

Width: 1770 mm / 69.7 in.

Height : 1550 mm / 61.0 in.

Wheelbase: 2700 mm / 106.3 in.

Performance

Driving range over: 160km/100miles (US LA4 mode)

Max speed (km/h): over 140km/h (over 87 mph)

Motor

Type: AC motor

Max power (kW): 80kW

Max torque (Nm): 280Nm

Battery

Type: laminated lithium-ion battery

Total capacity (kWh): 24

Power output (kW): over 90

Energy density (Wh/kg): 140

Power density (kW/kg): 2.5

Number of modules: 48

Charging times: quick charger DC 50kW (0 to 80%): less than 30 min; home-use AC200V charger: less than 8 hrs

Battery layout: Under seat & floor

Via Wired