NETHERLANDS - LeasePlan and Nissan signed an agreement Sept. 20 to cooperate in a European-wide project to launch the 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF in 2011.

LeasePlan will purchase more than 100 Nissan LEAF electric vehicles from Nissan and will offer them to its customers in thirteen countries in Europe, starting in early 2011 in line with Nissan's launch plans in those markets. The project will focus on driver behavior and the operational side of running a fleet of zero-emission battery-powered cars.

LeasePlan, a Dutch financial institution specialized in fleet management, operates in 30 countries and manages around 1.3 million cars globally.

The thirteen countries involved in the agreement are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Nissan employs around 12,500 people in its European design, research and development, manufacturing, logistics, and sales and marketing operations. In 2009, the company sold 498,027 vehicles across 40 markets in Western and Eastern Europe including Russia and produced a total of 390,727 vehicles in its Spanish and British plants, according to the company.

Deliveries of the Nissan LEAF begin in Europe in the first quarter of 2011.