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Nissan Leaf - Coming to a City Near You!

Nissan Leaf Electric Car

Nissan Leaf Electric Car

The first production electric car from a major auto manufacturer is on tour across the United States!  I caught the Nissan Leaf while it was in Atlanta, GA in January.  This isn't your typical econo-box 1-2 seater electric vehicle.  It's a 4 seater wagon with a 100 mile range and top speed of 90MPH!  It reminds me of a small station wagon or crossover vehicle like the Toyota Matrix.

Nissan Leaf Side View

Nissan Leaf Side View

This Nissan Leaf will be built in Japan at first and will be available in the United States in December of 2010.  With a price tag of between $28 and $35K and generous federal and state incentives, it is definitely in the price range of Americans who can afford a second vehicle.

The most exciting part of this announcement is that Nissan plans on manufacturing the car and battery pack in the United States starting in 2012.  They have already broken ground on a battery plant in Smyrna, Tennessee and an auto plant in Franklin, Tennessee.  I'm looking forward to sending a Mapawatt blogger to visit the plants as soon as they are far enough along.  (Mapawatt is based in Atlanta, GA just a few hours away)

Nissan Leaf Rear View

Nissan Leaf Rear View

Nissan Leaf Home Charging Station

Nissan Leaf Home Charging Station

The Nissan Leaf is charged using a charging station that you have installed in your garage at home.  It uses the new standard J1772 connector so it can be used in the future with other electric vehicles that use this connector.  There are federal incentives ending this year that will help pay for the charger and installation fees in your home.  Even if you are not ready to buy the Leaf you may want to install the charger this year to take advantage of the incentives if you know you'll eventually purchase a new electric vehicle. Go ahead and get that Leaf charger installed in your garage so you'll be ready to charge your Christmas present next year!

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Comments

What is the economic practicality of fully electric cars like the Leaf or the Chevy Volt? I don't have the detailed specs on the Leaf but I do for the Volt so here is my analysis. Assume that the Volt actually sells for its predicted $40,000 price and gets 40 miles on a single charge of its 16 KW hour battery. I live in northern Westchester and work in White Plains. If I use the Volt to commute the 20 miles to work each day, I will just about exhaust the battery on a round trip. In a year I will have commuted 10,000 miles (200 miles per week, 50 weeks a year). At my current Con Edison rate, each KW hour costs me nearly $0.21. Over a year I will use 4000 KWH at a cost of $840. The CU Auto issue describes a number of automobiles suitable for the same commute in the $20,000 price range. Most of these get at least 25 mpg on regular gasoline. With one of these cars, the yearly commute will consume 400 gallons. At the current gas price in this area of $3 per gallon, the annual cost is $1200. The Volt will save $360 per year in fuel cost over a conventional car. However the Volt costs $20,000 more. It will take 55 years of driving to make up the difference. But the finance cost of the additional $20,000 at 3% per year comes to $600. Running the Volt, even in fully electric mode will cost $240 MORE per year than an average gasoline fueled compact. In addition, the electricity "fuel" for the Volt does not come pollution free. In the northeast electricity is generated largely from coal or oil fired power stations which emit CO2 or from atomic energy installations that produce radioactive waste. So why would anyone buy the Volt other than to establish dubious green credentials or stick it to the Arabs. OK, I can see the practicality if gasoline rises to $10/gallon and electric charges drop or stay the same. But neither scenario is likely in the near future. So who will buy the Volt? What am I missing here?
Larry, Very good analysis and worthy of a blog post in and of itself. But I think your question is wrong. People arent going to be buying the Leaf or Volt to save money, they are going to buy it because they want one. They probably want to be less reliant on gasoline because of things like the gulf oil spill and petro-dictators. Think back to when residential computers first hit the marketplace way back in the '80s. I'm sure they weren't very practical at first, but there were early adopters that bought them and eventually the costs came down. It's the same thing with electric cars; at first they wont make economic or environmental sense. But that is why first adopters are so important. They will bring down cost, and as the electricity grid gets cleaner the cars will be more environmentally friendly.
Good job, Nissan. This is going to be a huge market hit of years to come. I will definately buy this cool car!

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