Nissan CEO is bullish for Leaf's success, says million plug-ins by 2015 is an easy goal
Posted Nov 13th 2009 2:54PM by Sebastian Blanco
Speaking at the U.S. launch of the Nissan Leaf this morning in Dodgertown, Los Angeles, Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn was supremely confident and optimistic about the chances of his company's first electric vehicle – and plug-ins in general – in the U.S. market. "This car should sell without advertising," Ghosn said, noting that Nissan's plan to sell a normal-looking (mostly), family-style vehicle with the "free premium" of an electric drivetrain will be an easy sell. Because the Leaf's batteries will be leased, Ghosn said, the Leaf will cost almost exactly the same as a similar gasoline-powered vehicle (it'll be one to two percent higher, without factoring in the cost of the battteries). For someone who drives between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a year, buying the Leaf and leasing the battery will be cheaper than owning a similar gas-powered car and filling up with liquid fuel. Using the "free premium" strategy, Ghosn said, the U.S. can easily reach and then beat President Obama's goal of having a million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.
Another bonus of leasing the battery, Ghosn said, is that the consumer won't have to worry about when to replace or upgrade it. Nissan will make that decision for the user, simplifying what it means to own an electric car. Nissan has publicly stated that they expect 10 percent of all cars sold in 2020 will be plug-ins, a number some criticized as too optimistic. But Ghosn said that Nissan's internal polling shows that even today, before most people have driven an EV, eight percent of Americans say they want their next car to be an EV. This gives Ghosn confidence that the 10 percent number is probably too low – and doesn't even account for possible dramatic political or social changes (wars, huge spikes in the price of oil, etc.). The question might not be if Nissan can drum up enough interest in the Leaf, but if they can produce enough to meet demand.
We'll have a full report about the launch – and what it's like to drive the Leaf – up shortly.
Our travel and lodging for this media event were paid for by the manufacturer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ghen 3:10PM (11/13/2009)
Here's hoping that when the leaf goes fully national they will have the option to purchase batteries. I hate payments and usually pay off my cars in under a year. A lease on batteries just seems like another way for them to sneak in a profit center without showing the real cost of what you're leasing.
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Ray 3:15PM (11/13/2009)
I agree no lease. From what I heard it was suppose to be a $30,000 vehicle, batteries included. I have already driven the Leaf mule. It is much more refined than my converted Yaris but I do own the batteries wich have a 120 mile range and I will be happy to continue driving it when the batteries only have 70 mile range 10 years from now.
Joeviocoe 4:23PM (11/13/2009)
Ray, can you give some details for your converted Yaris:
Price paid for the Yaris, model year?
Cost of conversion?
Battery chemistry?
Performance specs?
Thanks.
paulwesterberg 4:44PM (11/13/2009)
Ray's EV Yaris:
http://www.evalbum.com/1892
Nick From Montreal 3:25PM (11/13/2009)
"Our travel and lodging for this media event were paid for by the manufacturer."
You guys better show us some videos or there's gonna be a riot here ;). Wow, what a cool time to be alive. I wonder what a Leaf looks like in black with some aero aftermarket additions...
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BlackbirdHighway 3:34PM (11/13/2009)
If gasoline goes over $5, then a million cars is a slam dunk. One of my friends is an oil geologist and he says higher prices are coming soon, like it or not.
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Throwback 4:05PM (11/13/2009)
I'm not a geologist and I guarantee higher prices are coming. China and India are not scaling back their car ownership aspirations.
Ernie 4:48PM (11/16/2009)
Yes, in no small part because most of the rest of the non-OPEC world is already paying more than $5 a gallon due to taxation. The Turks pay something like $10 a gallon as it is, if I recall correctly. As such, there will be pretty high demand in the rest of the world. Ghosn is probably right about not being able to keep up with demand.
Oh yeah, and then I figure in less than 5 years, we'll start seeing crazy hikes in the price of oil. We're probably already past peak oil production, and even if we're not, we're pretty damn close (the most wildly optimistic predictions say 15-20 years from now, which in the grand scheme of things still isn't enough time). I can imagine what would happen when oil goes over $150 or $200 a barrel (and uh, shortages of oil): production of passenger vehicles would probably cease for anything but electrics due to customer demand.
PeterM 4:48PM (11/13/2009)
Guys, I think the battery lease idea is a good one. If NISSAN sweetens the deal by adding in a warranty for the duration of the lease... it would take away the uncertainty associated with batteries.. who wants to own something you have to throw away..... for certain when it wears out... and wear out they will!!. Let NISSAN own the things and take em back when it all over.
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Ray 7:16PM (11/13/2009)
The used batteries can be used for storage on the grid. Even at half strength they would be able to hold 17.5 KWh. I could use the old batteries as a dump charge for the new pack in my EV since there is no access to 3-phase charge wiring to my house. I could dump 70 miles worth of range in my EV in 5-15 minutes and have the old battery pack recharged during a valley on the grid instead of a peak. Old batteries will help load level the grid. Yea for old lithium ion batteries!
polo 8:58PM (11/13/2009)
"Guys, I think the battery lease idea is a good one. If NISSAN sweetens the deal by adding in a warranty for the duration of the lease.."
I doubt the battery would be exempt from the warranty, especially since he said they'll take care of any replacements and upgrades.
Adam Mase 5:43PM (11/13/2009)
Along with many others, I am excited about the prospect of affordable, highway speed production EVs becoming commonplace. However, I could never see myself purchasing a vehicle and leasing an integral part of it. In my mind if the battery is leased, it is no more palatable than leasing the whole car.
I want to purchase the car, battery and all. I realize that the battery will degrade in performance and value over time, but so will much of the rest of the car. I want to be the one who will choose when the battery will be replaced and what battery will replace it. I can set aside that "battery lease" money each month in order to save up for the day when the battery will need to be replaced.
In addition, leasing the battery brings up too many bad memories about the EV1, RAV4 EV, and so forth. If I don't own a necessary part of the vehicle to make it run, I feel just as vulnerable to having the car permanently recalled as owners of the first round of leased production EVs did.
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augustus 6:45PM (11/13/2009)
Leaf will be a slam dunk when they sell it with a battery good for 150k miles (at stated miles per charge) and it only costs $27-30k with the battery.
Battery leasing is stupid and a reason to not look at the car.
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augustus 6:49PM (11/13/2009)
Why is battery leasing stupid? Because it adds an extra layer of complexity to buying and driving the car. Also people who drive more (and who would like to own a Leaf) don't lease because of the miles they put on the car.
polo 9:03PM (11/13/2009)
The battery lease won't look so stupid when they offer free range upgrades/replacements that would cost you a few thousand to do yourself.
When the ranges get above 200miles, then buying sounds great, but paying cost at current ranges (when you could get it extended free later under the lease) sounds..well... stupid.
lne937s 7:01PM (11/13/2009)
Nissan Leaf in Time's Top 50 Inventions of 2009
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1934027_1934003_1933970,00.html
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Laurens 6:38AM (11/14/2009)
We'll see.
Rationally it wouldn't be my choice for transportation. That's probably why it will sell :-)
And turn out to be the wrong route to go, if cost effective CO2 emission reduction is the goal :-(
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Johannes 4:55PM (11/16/2009)
Nissan could be having a deal with utilities/recyclers that buy up all batteries so subsidize a good portion of the battery. It could really help make EVs more economically - but is the quoted figure of 23k with the EV tax rebate?
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Bill 3:13PM (11/14/2009)
I think their point is that consumers can look at the battery lease as part of the fuel cost, making the overall cost of the EV comparable (or perhaps better than) an internal combustion car. In other words, since electricity is so much cheaper than gas, they can claim that the price of charging plus the price of the battery lease is still less than you've been paying for gas. This makes the EV price-competitive.
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Big 5:52PM (11/14/2009)
How does one repossess a battery pack from an owned car if someone falls back on lease payment?
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