Nissan opened their new headquarters today in Yokohama, Japan.  As a part of that grand opening they unveiled the complete design of their new electric car, the leaf.  The car will use zero gasoline and has a reported range of around 100 miles.

“Just as leaves purify the air in nature, so Nissan Leaf purifies mobility by taking emissions out of the driving experience,” the company said.

The car will go on sale in 2010.  They hope to sell 50,000 in the first year of production and up that figure to 100,000 by 2012.  It will be available in Japan and certain US markets the first year it’s available.  Nissan hopes that the numbers will help to sell the car.  A top speed of 90 mph, a recharge time of 30 minutes at quick charge stations, and 207 of ft-lb of torque.

Nissan expects the car to cost about the same as a c-class sold in Europe (that’s compact).  That puts the price range at $28,000 to $35,000, not cheap – but about the same as the Chevy Volt.