An advert for Nissan’s all-electric Leaf has been ruled as misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The online ad claimed that the Leaf’s battery could be largely replenished in under an hour, stating in a footnote that the charging time would depend on the type of charger used, as well as factors such as battery temperature and size.
Following its release, three complainants stated that the car sometimes took longer than the stated 60 minutes to charge, and would only accept one fast charge per day – challenging the manufacturer’s charging time claims and asking whether they were misleading and unsubstantiated.
As a result, the ASA found that as a result of the charging process taking longer in some circumstances, the advert “did not clearly convey the degree of variability in the time that may be required to deliver a certain amount of charge” and concluded that “the claims had not been substantiated and were likely to mislead”.
Nissan censured by ad watchdog over electric car claims https://t.co/MZ7QEuTPeq
— ASA (@ASA_UK) October 10, 2018
In response, Nissan edited the wording of the advert, changing it to state that drivers would “get from 20-80% charge in around 60 minutes”.
However, despite these amendments the ASA still deemed that the advert was “likely to mislead”.
The ASA ordered that the advert must not appear in the same form again, and told Nissan Motor GB “to ensure that their future advertising made clear the degree of variability in the time that may be required to deliver a certain amount of charge.”
A spokesperson for Nissan GB said: “We were very disappointed with the ruling made by the ASA although of course we will respect their decision. We constantly review and react to customer feedback to ensure that we are giving the very best possible service and information.
“We are pleased to see that the New Leaf is performing well, and meeting our customers’ expectations, and will work closely with them to ensure that this continues in the future.”
