Nissan shows off Leaf with glow-in-the-dark paint

Nissan has just become the first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to a production vehicle. The Japanese automaker has just revealed its Leaf electric model with the luminous paint that uses UV energy absorbed during daylight to glow at night.

The paint is a spray-applied coating that absorbs UV energy during the day so that it glows for between eight to ten hours when the sun goes down.

While glowing car paint is already available, as are glow-in-the-dark car wraps, the ultraviolet-energised paint in this particular Leaf is reportedly unique thanks to its secret formula made up of entirely organic materials. It contains a rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odourless and chemically and biologically inert.

We have already seen various third-party brands apply glow-in-the-dark paint to vehicles before but Nissan is the first automaker to directly apply such technology. If made commercially available, the paint would last for up to 25 years.