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Nissan EV is about to be officially announced!

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Indyking, Jul 30, 2009.

  1. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I can't find anything on price. The press release calls it "the world's first affordable, zero-emission car."
     
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I posted earlier that they say it'll be released closer to the release date for the car in late 2010 and priced around a "well equipt C-category" vehicle...I'm not sure what that means.
     
  3. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    With the onboard IT system, every time you pass a gas station, that
    symbol is displayed 3 ft. high on the sides of the car. :D

    If this readout is anything like the one in the Tesla, "Miles remaining"
    has to be taken with a grain of salt. In the Tesla, it is calculated based
    on average power use. A sudden hankering for high speeds, 70+ MPH,
    will deplete the battery very quickly, with dramatic range reduction.

    In other threads, it has been suggested that a good rule for pre-trip
    power use/mileage estimation is 1/3 to get there, 1/3 to get home,
    and 1/3 held in reserve "just in case."
     
  4. JSH

    JSH Senior Member

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    Interesting. This car exceeds my needs and actually looks decent. To bad I won't be buying one. Why you might ask? Nissan's sales plan.

    Nissan intends to sell the Leaf for the same price as a conventional ICE car. The catch is that you don't get a battery with the car and without their proprietary battery the car is just a chunk of steel and plastic. According to past press releases, Nissan will not sell the battery to customers but instead will only lease it. That leaves any EV customer completely at the mercy of Nissan. You must pay whatever they ask to lease the battery or your car turns back into a lump of metal. While the initial contract may have a set pricing plan what happens when that contract expires. A customer either accepts the next contract or they have an inoperable car.

    Considering the last time Nissan made an EV they took them all back and crushed them, there is no way you will convince me to buy the car but lease the battery required to make it move.

    Are you listening Nissan?
     
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  5. JSH

    JSH Senior Member

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    A C-Segment car is called a compact car in the US. Some examples would be the Focus, Cobalt, Civic, Corolla, Jetta, BMW 3-series, MB C-Class, etc.

    Considering they say "well equipped" my guess is that the Leaf will be $25,000 to $30,000 plus battery lease.
     
  6. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    So they sell you the battery and you need a new one and they decide not to make them or sell them any more...how's that any different?
    I'd bet there'll be 3rd party/aftermarket options available in 6 months.
     
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  7. JSH

    JSH Senior Member

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    That depends on how old the vehicle is when the battery fails and what condition the vehicle is in. If the vehicle is still serviceable I could:
    • Buy a battery from a junkyard.
    • If only one or two cells have failed; buy just the cells I need from a junkyard or buy a whole battery and have extra cells to continue to service my battery,
    • Have a 3rd party design and install a custom battery pack.

    When battery packs are sold to the public the odds of finding a replacement increase greatly. That doesn't even take into account that manufacturers are required by federal law to provide parts for a minimum number of years. I have no idea if that law applies to parts that are leased separate from the vehicle. If Nissan only leases battery packs and decides that EV's aren't for them (again) the customer has to look for a 3rd party solution.
     
  8. jasony79

    jasony79 New Member

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    2010 Nissan Leaf electric car: In person, in depth -- and U.S. bound — Autoblog

    "As stated earlier, the Leaf will probably be initially marketed in those U.S. cities that have committed to building the necessary infrastructure to support EVs – places like Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona; San Diego and Sonoma County in California; Raleigh, North Carolina; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Seattle, Washington. Nissan says it has established 27 partnerships with local governments around the world, and more are on the way. If you're outside of such areas, Nissan says it won't discourage you from becoming an owner/lessee, but obviously home charging will need to be sufficient."
     
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  9. Fibb222

    Fibb222 New Member

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  10. JSH

    JSH Senior Member

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    That study assumes a network of battery exchange stations that would allow EV drivers to quickly exchange batteries for unlimited range. Though a nice pie-in-the-sky idea, no such network exists.

    I know you are a big supporter of Better Places and their idea of building such a network. However, they have only built one demonstration exchange station so far. I believe is is safe to assume that if this vehicle goes on sale in late 2010 it will be without a network of battery exchange stations.

    I guess I'm just a old-fashion. I like to buy things, take care of them, and keep them for a long time. I don't currently lease cars so I can't see leasing a battery for a car. Especially from a company that crushed their last batch of EV's.
     
  11. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I agree with this. I think a lot of people are taking calling the Nissan EV not mainstream or suggesting it wont reach the mainstream immediately....PERSONALLY, like an affront.

    I'm not saying I don't like EV's. I'm not saying people who want one, aren't "mainstream" people or families. I'm just saying as initially presented I don't think the Nissan EV would work as a primary or sole vehicle for most people.

    I agree that historically some world changing products went through a process and it could very well be the same with EV's. I'm just saying we will have to go through this process, and there are some improvements and requirements I think would have to be reached before an EV would be a primary choice of a majority of people.

    This is no way means if you want an EV, can afford it, and it works for your life that I am accusing anyone of anything. No "hub bub" just seems some people are thin skinned when it comes to not simply raising the flag and immediately crowning Nissans EV a success. Prius took it's developmental and popular "lumps", I'd expect any EV offered as a mainstream vehicle to at least have to go through a similar process.
     
  12. SanZan

    SanZan Junior Member

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    Thanks for the clarification. The announced $25-30,000 price sounded too good to be true compared to the Subaru and Mitsubishi EVs.

    For people with a short commute or a charging place at work, a Hymotion Prius sounds like better value to me.
     
  13. jasony79

    jasony79 New Member

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    Nissan EV (NissanEVs) on Twitter

    You can ask your questions here. I tried using their nissanusa.com website, but "Sending question, please wait..." has been showing awhile.
     
  14. bluetwo

    bluetwo Relevance is irrelevant

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    I actually think leasing the battery pack makes perfect sense IF that turns out to be the most cost effective way about it.

    I'm sure that will prove to be the case if the battery pack turns out to have a shelf life of less than 10 years or if there are sudden leaps in technology resulting in better efficiency.
     
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  15. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi All,

    This car would work for me, if eventually an APU (auxiliary power unit) trailer is offered to supply heat/electricity during winter driving. This was the EV2 (3, 4 ?) solution to range and winter usage.
     
  16. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    This is a great marketing and business plan . . . if your intent is to kill the new technology and paint your company as a money grabbing, early-adapter-hating SOB. As soon as Nissan decides to charge their customers an arm and a leg for the batteries, Mitsubishi will come out with a commercial saying something like, "we won't screw you like those guys." Any company that engages in the practices you have laid out is committing corporate suicide.

    Just because you can state the absolute worst case scenario doesn't mean that it's going to occur. I've led too many new product teams and heard too many worst case scenarios to trust a single one of them. Let me put it this way: how many worst case scenarios have we heard about the death of rescue workers, the high cost of hybrid batteries, and the myriad other problems we are all going to encounter with our cars? Just because someone can type it into an e-zine article doesn't make it so.
     
  17. Genoz World

    Genoz World ZEN-style living

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    25K-30K for an electric car is ok as long as it is a high tech vehicle.

    If it's just a mundane car that has the EV designation, it's NOT worth it.

    However, it's good to see that advancements are made. That itself is good.
     
  18. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    This is gonna be pretty high tech. Monitor and control battery charging remotely from your smart phone, turn on the AC remotely from the smart phone. A look at that dash tells you it's a state of the art interface.
    I think the $25-30k price point is right where they need to be for a 100 mile range vehicle, considering the Tesla Model S will be $50k for a 160 mile luxury sedan.

    BTW, if you look at the pix you'll notice that there seems to be plenty of room for extra battery capacity behind the rear seat...gotta believe that's in the plans, if not by Nissan then by someone as an aftermarket add-on.
     
  19. bluetwo

    bluetwo Relevance is irrelevant

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    So is the glass half-empty or is it half-full? Or have we yet to determine that?.... lol.

    That's just a statement in regards to the pessimism I've seen here, ...because when it comes to new vehicle technology I choose to be optimistic. People can argue how old the concept is or how insufficient an EV would be but we'll just argue that there's a lot of advancements and that an EV probably isn't the best thing to have as a sole vehicle, not for the immediate future anyway.

    I feel like electric cars are going to happen anyway, and what auto maker gets the most out of it in terms of sales rests largely on which one brings it to market in the best way. Nissan is one of the big (Japanese) 3 so I doubt they're going to invest in something that will just totally flop, though of course you can't totally rule it out.
     
  20. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Wow, if true that sounds like a huge mistake. Why advance a car with the idea that you want it to be mainstream and "not a niche" vehicle but then decide to sell it in that manner?

    Yes, don't get upset, I know a lot of people in here won't care. But again your general public, non-hybrid crowd is just going to be scared of the idea of buying a car, BUT leasing a battery. To them, it's going to be a joke, like buying a car but leasing the engine. Nissan should rethink this approach.