Nissan just posted a press release with lots of new information about the Nissan Leaf EV that includes the purchase process and we have a commercial that Nissan is going to air during the Winter Olympic games. Check out the commercial and then read the press release below. NISSAN ANNOUNCES NISSAN LEAF PURCHASE PROCESS; GIVES FIRST GLIMPSE AT MARKETING CAMPAIGN Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour Culminates in New York The Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour culminated today with an appearance in New York City. The three-month tour, which made 63 stops in 24 cities, offered the opportunity for interested drivers, media, civic partners, businesses and university students to learn more about the Nissan LEAF and the benefits of zero-emission driving. The tour helped pave the way for the 2010 introduction of Nissan LEAF, the world's first all-electric, zero-emission car designed for the mass market, and leads up to the start of the vehicle-purchase process. The Nissan LEAF will be available to consumers via lease or sale, in a single transaction that includes the battery. Steps to acquiring a Nissan LEAF are: REGISTER: Interested people can register for more information about the Nissan LEAF onwww.NissanUSA.com. To date, close to 50,000 people have registered on the website. Registrants will be given first priority to reserve a Nissan LEAF. RESERVE: The reservation process will begin in April, shortly after the announcement of the price of the Nissan LEAF. Upon paying a fully refundable $100 reservation fee, registrants will be among the first in line able to order a Nissan LEAF. ORDER: Nissan will begin taking firm orders in August, for deliveries when sales begin in the driver's particular market. EARLY DELIVERIES: Rollout begins in select markets in December 2010, with vehicles available in all major launch markets quickly thereafter. "The Nissan LEAF purchase process is effortless, transparent and accessible, offering value with a one-stop-shop approach for everything related to the car, including the assessment, permitting and installation of in-home battery charging units," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman, Nissan Americas. "We want everyone to feel good about having a car that is affordable, fun to drive and good for the environment." Coinciding with this next phase of the Nissan LEAF launch is the debut of Nissan's initial global marketing campaign, which is called "The New Car." A first look at the campaign -- which illustrates Nissan's passion about the potential for zero-emission mobility and a better, cleaner world -- was shown in New York as part of the culmination of the Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour. The Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour covered 10,000 miles in the United States and Canada, providing the first opportunity for more than 100,000 people to see and learn about the Nissan LEAF first hand. "There was a groundswell of grassroots support from coast to coast," said Tavares. "Everywhere we went, people recognized a new form of mobility -- a turning point -- and they wanted to be a part of it. The response was spontaneous and diverse. We were joined by mayors and government officials, CEOs, utility partners, car enthusiasts, students, dealers, media, environmentalists, Twitter users and lots of families." Tour Highlights: Diverse tour stops, stretching from Stanford University to the Kennedy Space Center. Other stops included: Phoenix on New Year's Eve, in conjunction with the Fiesta Bowl; Qwest Field in Seattle; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland; and a charging-station-equipped McDonald's in Cary, N.C. The tour also stopped at Nissan Americas in Franklin, Tenn; the Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing facility where the Nissan LEAF will be built starting in 2012; and Nissan Design Americas in San Diego. New York area stops include Madison Square Garden (Feb. 10), and upcoming public displays at the Time Warner Center (Feb. 12) and the Liberty Science Center (Feb. 13). Due to the high level of interest, Atlanta and Boston were added to the original tour schedule, bringing total cities to 24. Nearly 50,000 people have registered to receive information and learn more about the Nissan LEAF onwww.NissanUSA.com as a result of the tour. Signing up online is the first step in the reservation and purchase process. Already, the Nissan LEAF has received more than 10 media and environmental awards, including the Green Car Vision Award, presented at the Washington Auto Show by Green Car Journal. The announcement of the closing of Nissan's loan with the U.S. Department of Energy. The $1.4 billion loan will fund the modification of Nissan's Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the Nissan LEAF and batteries to power it. Groundbreaking for the new battery plant will take place in May. The announcement of a joint commitment with Hertz, the world's largest general market rental brand, to bring zero-emission mobility car rental to the United States and Europe in 2011. Hertz is developing a rollout of the Nissan LEAF at select rental sites in both major markets. Nissan announced that AeroVironment will supply and install home charging stations for the Nissan LEAF, creating a one-stop shop for the Nissan LEAF and its charging equipment. The tour reached all markets that are part of The EV Project, the world's largest EV infrastructure deployment ever undertaken. The EV Project, funded by a $98 million grant from the Department of Energy and led by EV infrastructure provider eTec, a division of Ecotality, will provide an unprecedented number (6,510) of public charging stations across the 5 participating markets and will provide home charging stations for up to 4700 Nissan Leafs sold in those markets. The public stations will include both Level 2 (240V) and Level 3 DC fast chargers. The EV Project markets are Seattle, Oregon, Tennessee (Knoxville, Nashville and Chattanooga), Phoenix/Tucson, Ariz., and San Diego. The tour also served as the backdrop to announce newly established partnerships with Reliant Energy of Houston; the City of Orlando and the Orlando Utilities Commission; the City of Houston; and the State of Massachusetts. These agreements, like three dozen others globally, are designed to promote the development of an electric-vehicle charging network and policies to support the widespread adoption of electric cars. Existing partnerships furthered progress, taking steps like securing letters of intent for vehicle fleet purchases and the formation of working groups and task forces to foster the development of the electric-vehicle infrastructure, such as Oregon's Governor's Alternative Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group. In North America, Nissan has spearheaded a holistic approach to zero-emission mobility by working with states, municipalities, utility companies and other partners, to prepare markets and infrastructure. Nissan has formed 18 partnerships in the United States, in areas including State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon, Sonoma County, San Diego and San Francisco in California, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., Washington D.C., Seattle, with the City of Orlando and Orlando Utilities Commission, with Progress Energy in Raleigh, N.C., with the City of Houston and Houston-based Reliant Energy, with the State of Massachusetts. Nissan also has formed partnerships with Mexico City and Vancouver, Canada. Nissan, along with alliance partner Renault, is the only automaker committed to making all-electric vehicles available to the mass market on a global scale. In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive design, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on the Nissan LEAF and zero emissions can be found at www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car.
I caught a glimpse of the plug in the commercial. Nissan is really going for it with this car. Hats off to them. I think it's great! Can't wait to hear the cost and specifications.
i'm getting a little tired of the hype from all these companies. everyone has a hybrid coming, an electric coming, a diesel hybrid. ENOUGH HYPE! thank you toyota for actually giving us a car without the hype.
I don't see it that way. The Leaf will be the first all-electric produced and for sale to the mass market and I'm assuming (hope I'm right) that the Leaf will be freeway capable unlike NEV's. It should be priced well under $40k, maybe under $30k, so to me, this car is significant. And I don't think it will be vaporware, it may be very good. Nissan builds some great cars and I understand the Altima hybrid is very nice and powerful.
No ... they've already said it'll be above $30K and maybe (with the battery lease) even higher ... then you get to subtract thousands in fed tax credits. They've already said it'll do freeways. (charging) Infrastructure has already begun as well, in addition to chargers that'll go to folk's homes. But 'mass market' ?? It'll be a limited market as the EV1 & rav4-ev were ... just a few states ... CA ... TN ... and a few others. The wait line begins in April & $100 refundable will get you on it. Better break out your camping gear. .
I like the idea of the Leaf but i am more interested in the plug in Prius. Here in central Ohio i am betting the wait to get a leaf would be years. for the average customer in states like me, say the Dekotas, Montana, Indiana, Kansas, ect we are going to be waiting a long time. So the plug in hybrid is going to be it for most folks in those areas.
hill, You've raised a valid point; just where will the Leaf be available? I can't find anything on the Nissan site about this. Will it just be a West Coast release? Anybody know? There are a whole lot of us not on the West Coast who are interested, but don't want to be played with via a selective, geographically limited release. Damn it, the ads are being run nationally, the car should be likewise widely available.
A leaf makes sense as one of our two cars. We both have approximately 20 mile commutes and one of us would have a hybrid for longer drives. It will make more sense when more electricity is generated via renewable sources.
i'm not arguing with the theory. i believe electrics are viable and will become more so with battery technology. i'm just not impressed with the big announcements and shouting from the roof tops. a one off doesn't impress me. they are just trying to generate interest in the label. when it's available, i'll believe it and if it will take me 7 miles to work and back, i'll buy one.
and i agree with mindmachine. the plug in prius is much more viable at this point in time, especially in colder climes.
I think I read at the LEAF site that their loan from the Dept of Energy has them building 150K cars a year in Tennessee. I don't think they will have a problem selling them. People pay over $30K for a Mini Cooper... and a range of 100 miles (or even 35 miles with a/c and 90 mph driving) is good enough for most people (unless you can only have one car!).
I DO feel your pain. I find five states mentioned in this article: Electric Car Charging Stations to Be Constructed to Support Nissan LEAF - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com I think there maybe a few others too. Maybe it's time to move? EDIT: ok, here are some more places you can move to, to qualify to get on the wait list: Nissan LEAF Electric Car Available in Bay Area (San Francisco) Next Year | AutoNewscast.com Last paragraph. I count 5 areas. The rest of you folks will have to be green another way ... like from envy, watching the rest of us go electric ... hoe ... I can feel the smug flowing already. sorry, I couldn't resist .
Just some rough calculations... The Leaf's battery has 24KWh capacity. They say the circuit needs to be 240v 20A. So you can safely draw about 4KWh from that. Times 4-8 hours is around 16-32KWh. Of course their charging and usage will baby the battery so it doesnt get too charged, nor discharged. There are also inefficiencies in charging. In Chicago, 1KWh of electricity costs me (after taxes & fees) about $0.130. 24KWh costs me $3.12. for 100 miles of average use. So aside from things like features, capacity, handling, price, maturity of technology ;-), yada yada... The leaf gets roughly twice the miles/dollar we currently get on a 2010 Gen III. The funniest question on the leaf site is: Q: in case of a problem can a (normal) qualified electrician fix a Leaf? is a special training is needed? rich
4-8hrs is for slow charging. They're working on a fast charge infrastructure too. Turning on whether the discharge is 50%-90% ... you may only be looking at a 20-40 minute re-fill. .
The Leaf will work perfect for my wife. She has a 2005 Prius now, but nearly all her trips are 5 miles or less from home running errands (she's a stay-at-home mom). Her Prius averages only 40 MPG because of all the short trips where it can't warm up. The Leaf is totally immune to the cold start problem of the Prius. We live in the suburbs in the Houston area so she can charge up the Leaf every night inside the garage, and we are in one of the markets where the Leaf will be sold and serviced. And if she has a longer errand to run, well, she can borrow my 2004 Prius (while I drive her Leaf the 10 miles to work). The Leaf will get a $7500 tax credit so its cost will be quite reasonable.
I finally caught the ad today on TV (I didn't watch it here first). At first, I thought it was a pretty good feel good ad for Nissan in general so the part about the Leaf at the end caught me by surprise.
