LeasePlan and Nissan have signed an agreement to cooperate in a European-wide project to launch the electric Nissan LEAF in 2011.

“The UK cannot achieve critical mass for electric vehicles without large-scale adoption among private and public sector fleets. This announcement puts LeasePlan at the forefront of helping to achieve this goal, working with Nissan to deliver a vehicle and fleet management solution relevant to the needs of the fleet industry,” said David Brennan, managing director of LeasePlan UK.

LeasePlan is the first leasing company to offer the Nissan LEAF in Europe. The car will be mass-marketed globally from 2012 onwards.

The lease giant will buy more than 100 of the Nissan EVs and will offer them to its corporate customers in 13 European countries including the UK.

The project will focus on driver behaviour and the operational side of running a fleet of zero-emission battery-powered cars.

“We have done a great deal of research into potential usage patterns for Nissan LEAF, but there is nothing to beat the real-world experience.

"By exchanging data with industry leader LeasePlan, we will be better able to understand just how EVcustomers will use their cars,” said Colin Dodge, executive vice president, Nissan Motor Co.