Nissan Leaf has been included in Time magazine’s 50 best inventions of 2009. Nissan introduced its electric car the Frankfurt Auto Show earlier this year in September. Nissan’s promise for zero emission car depicted clearly when the car was first unveiled at the Auto Show. The model does not have any tail pipe for emission. The car goes into production by late 2010 but that does not keep Time readers to select it as one of the best inventions of the year.

"The LEAF is a new paradigm of the car," said Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan. "LEAF represents a totally new transformational technology that will change the way people drive, use, and power their vehicles. And the time is right for this breakthrough," he said.

Time readers were asked to grade the inventions on a scale of 100 and Leaf received average ranking of 75. Leaf falls in the all-electric C-segment cars and can be charged up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes. It goes on speed of 144 km per hour which can be raised up to 160 km per hour when full charged.    

Suzuki meanwhile is planning to launch all-electric Versa model to compete with Nissan’s Leaf. Technically speaking, the electric Versa EV-12 is a Leaf on a Versa platform.