Nissan announces reduced price for all-electric Leaf

 

Nissan has announced they have reduced the price of their zero-emissions all-electric Leaf. Nissan say the reduction of £2,500 is all part of a global effort to make the LEAF more affordable in the pioneering electric vehicle’s three main markets of Japan, Europe and the United States. On top of the incentive offered by the government, this means a customer can drive away in a brand new LEAF for £23,490. And to add to the good news, Nissan say that an updated version of the LEAF is coming in spring 2013.

“There is no doubt that Nissan LEAF is a revolution and existing customers are passionate in their belief that zero-emission mobility is not the future, but is here now,” said Paul Willcox, senior vice president, Nissan Europe. “Nissan’s objective for LEAF has always been to bring zero-emission mobility within reach of the mass-market. Our price reduction underlines that commitment and with no price premium even more motorists will become believers.”

The Leaf does offer some pretty good features such as a rear-view parking camera, rapid charge capability, Intelligent Key, LED headlamps and Bluetooth connectivity. Plus the Nissan LEAF has been granted a top 5 star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests. Another reason to consider the Nissan LEAF is that it comes with very high levels of standard equipment. Its standard satellite navigation system incorporates Carwings, Nissan’s unique telematics system which allows an owner to control the heating and air conditioning settings and to monitor the charging process remotely via a smart phone.

Will this be enough to entice more of us to join the electric vehicle revolution? I'm not so sure. There are several advantages to driving an electric car/van, such as zero emissions, zero road tax, and they are currently exempt for company car ‘benefit-in-kind’ tax. However there are also some drawbacks. The main concerns most motorists have with these vehicles is not only the initial purchasing cost, but the overall cost when factoring in either leasing or if owned, eventually having to replace the battery. The price reduction offered by Nissan and the current government grants will help, but there are other issues such as the limited driving range on a single charge, the time it takes to re charge can be lengthy, insufficient amounts of public charging stations across the country, and again the limited number of recharging cycles (battery issues) - even with optimal charging, lithium batteries can lose about 10% of their capacity per year thus adding an astonishing cost when it comes time to replace it. Hopefully these issues will be addressed as the technology of EV's advances through the next few years.