Nissan recently confirmed pricing for the upcoming all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf. In case you didn't hear, it starts off at $32,780, but that number is quickly reduced by a $7,500 tax credit from your always-ready-to-help Internal Revenue Service, and some state governments are also willing to toss car buyers as much as $6,000 more on top of that (thank you, Colorado!). That means it's conceivable to be plugging in your next commuter car by the end of the year for less than $20,000 upfront, and according to the Nissan folks we caught up with at the New York Auto Show, that's just the beginning.
Nissan's Chief Marketing Manager for Electric Vehicles, Trisha Jung, filled us in on what exactly a new Leaf owner will get for that minimum sticker price, also known as the SV package, and it's a pretty handsome list of features including traction control, XM Radio, navigation system and three years worth of telematics service.
Telematics includes many vital connectivity features like uploading the nearest charging locations into the navigation system. That’s a great way to relieve a little bit of that dreaded "range anxiety," a new term now entering our collective psyche on the heels of the Leaf's debut that describes angst around how far an electric vehicle can travel before it runs out of juice. Telematics also includes not so vital but still cool features like the ability to remotely pre-heat your seat using a custom iPhone app.
Nissan Believes Leaf Cost of Ownership Beats Prius, Civic
"We want to make sure you're not starting off with nothing," explains Jung as she pulls out a handy pricing comparison breaking down the first five years of ownership of a Leaf. "Using some pretty conservative price estimates for gas and electricity costs, the Leaf comes in at less than both the Honda Civic or Toyota Prius."
Jung's numbers include the price of the Leaf after federal tax credit, plus the $2,200 cost of a charging dock, which is then cut in half by another federal tax credit, less the estimated four-grand she says a Leaf driver will save using grid electricity instead of gasoline (at just under three bucks a gallon). Add all that up and you've saved a few hundred dollars over the next half-decade by driving an electric rather than a comparable gas or hybrid vehicle.
If you're in California or one of those other EV tax credit states, you could save another few thousand dollars, which you might consider using to upgrade to the SL trim for $940.
Predictably, Jung thinks it's a worthwhile investment; one that comes with fog lights, rearview monitor / backup camera and a solar panel-equipped spoiler that helps charge the battery that powers the car's accessories, among other things.
Nissan also announced its 36-month lease that starts with $1,999 down followed by $349 a month. That's more than a Civic or Prius lease, but after those aforementioned gas savings, Jung's numbers bring the Leaf in lower on total costs over the term of the lease, and with special carpool privileges in many cities to boot.
Nissan Committed to Reducing Range Anxiety
Jung also addressed some of the primary concerns about the Leaf and the EV revolution Nissan is hoping it will usher in. She says range anxiety will have to be dealt with by educating consumers and by letting them educate the company about how they drive the Leaf.
"One thing not everyone realizes is that most people don't need to drive 100 miles a day," she says, pointing to the commonly cited figure that a vast majority of commuters drive closer to 40 miles a day, a distance well within the means of a fully-charged Leaf. "It'll get you through your daily needs, and then when it comes time to take a trip or something on the weekend, that's when you pull your secondary car out of the garage."
Jung also notes that the EV Project is underway in several cities in five states. The partnership between Nissan, the Department of energy and a number of local governments will put charging stations in cities across the country – not just the West Coast – as well as in the homes of a few thousand new Leaf owners.
If this infrastructure kick-start continues, she foresees a not-too-distant future when Leaf drivers will be able to recharge on the road, using a charging station to get juiced up to 80 percent in about 25 minutes, which she notes is about how long the average family can expect to spend at a quick trip to McDonalds.
