At Dodger Stadium this morning, Nissan kicked off a 22-city tour to promote the company's Leaf electric vehicle. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and was in attendance and dropped a few clues regarding how the vehicle will go to market.
We then received clarification on a few of those points from Mark Perry, whom heads up Nissan USA's product planning.
Hit the jump.
First, Ghosn's statement that the Leaf's batteries will be leased is only partially true. Leasing the batteries is Nissan's global strategy... for the rest of the globe. The market strategy hasn't been cemented for the US version of the Leaf, and leasing the batteries isn't the only option they're exploring. Seems NHTSA might have a beef with whether an electric car sans battery actually qualifies as a "motor vehicle." As such, Nissan are still wrangling with some red tape before the Leaf is rolled out to the dealerships of 15 cities in late 2010 as a 2011 model.
Pricing of the Leaf is said to be within one- to two-percent of an otherwise comparable five-passenger vehicle. More specifically, Perry indicated that the cost to own and operate a Leaf will be similar to that of a high-end Civic or a Prius. Ballpark for the Leaf, then, is $28,000 to $30,000.
Charging the Leaf fully will require eight hours on a 220-volt power supply (16 hours at 110 volts). Thirty minutes on a high-voltage "quick charge" station will charge it up to 80-percent full.
Perry and Ghosn don't view the Leaf's stated 100-mile range as an issue, as it will address 80-percent of daily commuters' needs. Perry acknowledges that there's still a psychological hurdle to overcome in light of the range of modern conventional vehicles.
It's important to note that the Leaf's claimed 100-mile range is based on an "LA4" (aka "City") driving cycle, which consists of a lot of low-speed stop-and-go driving and no parasitic draw from accessories like air conditioning or heater, radio, headlights, etc. The LA4 drive cycle averages 19.6 mph and includes 18 stops, which gives plenty of opportunity for regenerative braking.
In other words, 100 miles is an absolute best-case scenario. When the production Leaf is driven in the real world by real people, the real range will inevitably be substantially less than 100 miles. We predict something closer to 70 miles.
A next-generation battery is already being developed by Nissan. It will boast 35% higher energy density than the 24 kW/h-capacity battery (of which the usable capacity is "more than 50-percent") with which the Leaf will launch. This second-gen battery will go to market about five years from now and will be backward-compatible with the first-gen battery. When it reaches full production status in 2012, batteries and Leafs (Leaves?) bound for the US market will be produced in Nissan's Smyrna, TN, plant.
Eighty-percent of Leaf charging is expected to occur at home, overnight, during off-peak hours when the electrical grid has capacity to spare. David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy, an electrical power producer, spoke in a panel discussion that the existing US electrical grid can support more than one million electric cars. The grid's limit is around 50-100 million cars.
Nissan will announce at the LA Auto Show the inclusion of Los Angeles as one of the cities in which the Leaf will be available upon its intial launch.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor
stephen987 says:
04:38 PM, 11/13/09
So for the price of a Prius, I could have a car that's much less useful? Thanks, but I'll pass.
rick8365 says:
04:55 PM, 11/13/09
Here's a detail ..... it's stupid ugly! What's with that nose?!?
estreka says:
07:24 PM, 11/13/09
Excellent info. Thanks Jason.
I believe in the US, the proper term is "leaves" whereas those silly neighbors to the north use "leafs".
Even at 70 miles, that's not bad, especially at that price point. I'd still much rather have a Fit.
Rick ain't lyin'. That nose is ugly.
mympg90 says:
06:55 AM, 11/14/09
Common Automakers... Look it up in mid 80's... Honda HF was introduced with a 50MPG Gasoline only... What happens thereafter is a mystery. Honda No longer design such a car like that after 1995 when it ended a similar MPG of 40-55MPG in the 5 passanger Honda Civic VX... Technology ended then and Hybrids AKA better gas? Interesting... My 1990 CRX HF get an average if not better than most hybrids also backed by several Mechanics as well. One guy wanted to buy my "POS" as he claims it for $5K... I said no way. I can't afford them hybrids and Knowing Gas prices will increase and in good timing before $2/gallon gas incease upto $4/gallon of gas at one point in time.
acbayard says:
08:52 AM, 11/14/09
@mympg90: Automobile manufacturers can easily build conventional gasoline engined vehicles that return 50mpg; the problem is whether American consumers will be willing to sacrifice luxury, insulation, fast air conditioning, cabin space for a car that will be powered by a 90hp engine that gets you up to highway speed in a quarter minute.
brn says:
09:30 PM, 11/14/09
$30K and you don't get a battery? How many people will really go for that?
acbayard, it has more to do with safety and emissions standards than anything you state. Take a look at the Smart Fortwo for example. 70hp, barely squeezes two people in, takes a quarter minute to get to 60, and still only manages a combined mpg of 36. Far from 50.
acbayard says:
05:23 PM, 11/15/09
The ForTwo is a horrible example of efficiency. Take the Toyota iQ, similar weight & profile - nearly double the mpg of the ForTwo. A VW Polo with a 1.4 easily gets mid-40s on the highway.
brn says:
06:51 AM, 11/16/09
acbayard, IQ vs FourTwo is apples to oranges. The IQ doesn't exist in the US. It likely doesn't meet US safety and emissions requirements, which was my initial point. If it's made to meet US requirements, it will likely get EPA ratings along the lines of the FourTwo. Similar arguments for the Polo.