Warning Nissan Leaf could fall at first hurdle
Mar 31 2010 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
NISSAN’S new environmentally friendly electric car, the Leaf, will cost £26,500 when it goes on sale in Japan this year.
The vehicle, which is being built at Nissan’s Sunderland plant and in the US, will be less expensive than other zero-emission vehicles but still out of reach for many drivers who may also be deterred by its limited range.
Deliveries of the four-door hatchback will start in December and customers in Japan will be able to place orders from Thursday.
Orders in America start on April 20, and soon after that in Europe.
The price makes the Leaf one of the cheapest offerings in the fledgling electric car market, but analysts said it was still too high to appeal to a wide swathe of buyers.
The range of the car – 100 miles on a single charge – is also a major obstacle.
“It would have to be cheaper, but the main stumbling block is range,” said Christopher Richter, an auto analyst at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets in Tokyo. “For this to be a game-changer, you’d need to have double the range, and lithium ion battery technology just can’t do that right now at an affordable price,” he said.
However, Richter predicted the car would definitely find a market, particularly among “people who want to be green, people who love technology and people who are status-conscious”.
