Nissan Australia charges up for 2012 Leaf launch

2011 Nissan Leaf – Click above for high-res image gallery

Nissan Australia has moved one step closer to the 2012 Australian launch of the Leaf by inking a deal with Coulomb Techologies. Nissan, working in conjunction with Coulomb, has installed three ChargePoint stations (two CT2000 Level II and one CT500 Level II) at its Australian headquarters in Dandenong. Initially, the trio of chargers will be used by Nissan employees to juice up Leafs used for demonstration purposes. Coulomb claims the three charging stations are the first-ever Level II units installed in Australia.

Additionally, Nissan has shipped 16 Leafs to Australia to participate in the Victorian government's five-year electric vehicle trail. The Leafs will be part of a pilot project that's designed to test the feasibility of plug-in vehicles in Australia and to assess the nation's charging infrastructure needs. Obviously, three Level II chargers won't be nearly enough, but at least it's a first step in the right direction.