How Much Will a Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt Cost to Buy?

Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle Is Surprisingly Affordable | Autopia | Wired.com

The Nissan Leaf electric car will cost $32,780 when it rolls into showrooms in December. Add in the federal EV tax credit and the bottom line is $25,280, a price that makes the Leaf competitive with the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius.

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Lifecycle ownership costs of the Leaf over five years is $28,180 versus a Civic at $28,338 and the Prius at $29,358,” said Trisha Jung, chief marketing manager for the Leaf. “That’s the cost of the vehicle, the cost of the charging station and the cost of the electricity.

A word on the math: Nissan figured electricity costs at 11.64 cents per kilowatt-hour and gasoline at $2.94 a gallon and assumes you drive 12,000 miles a year. The purchase price come down further if you include the tax credits or rebates several states offer. California and Georgia, for example, offer a $5,000 tax credit.

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Exciting, indeed!

 

Also, don't forget about the $2200 battery charging station, before credits.

Charging Equipment
In tandem with the purchase process, Nissan will offer personal charging docks, which operate on a 220-volt supply, as well as their installation. Nissan is providing these home-charging stations, which will be built and installed by AeroVironment, as part of a one-stop-shop process that includes a home assessment.

• The average cost for the charging dock plus installation will be $2,200.
• Charging dock and installation are eligible for a 50 percent federal tax credit up to $2,000.
• Using current national electricity averages, Nissan LEAF will cost less than $3 to "fill up."
• Nissan LEAF also will be the sole vehicle available as part of The EV Project, which is led by EV infrastructure provider eTec, a division of ECOtality, and will provide free home-charging stations and installation for up to 4,700 Nissan LEAF owners in those markets.

 

Why so much cheaper in the US compared to Japan? VAT or something?

If that really is the price, the Volt is basically dead - and Nissan will corner the EV market for the near future.

 

I think they're also assuming max range (low speed?).

 

Wow - somewhere around $12k in tax credits for an EV, or about 1/3 of the price of the Leaf.

It will be interesting to see how Toyota responds to this pricing with their Gen IV Prius. With Nissan taking reservations next month, I wonder if Toyota will start to make some projections on costs, MPG, etc. to try to keep mindshare. Similarly, wonder if GM will finally respond with firmer pricing, projected availability, and performance numbers for the Volt.

 

Copied from a Nissan Email:

Nissan LEAF™ pricing

The Nissan LEAF will be available for purchase or lease in select markets this December. Later this spring, Nissan will begin accepting reservations at NissanUSA.com. For complete details, read the recent pricing announcement.
Read the complete announcement
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)

After tax savings, net as low as $25,2801
MSRP $32,7802 with Federal tax savings from $0 to $7,5003
MSRP includes three years of complimentary roadside assistance.
State and local incentives may further decrease the cost4:

• $5,000 statewide rebate in California
• $5,000 tax credit in Georgia
• $1,500 tax credit in Oregon
• Carpool-lane access in some states, including California

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I like the way Nissan makes it very clear that the credits will be ymmv. Good for them. As I understand the problem, tax credits phase out as income increases, or AMT comes into play.

 

It's a great price for the Leaf, but I'm not buying those numbers - the "fuel" cost difference (assuming EPA 50mpg and $3/gallon for the Prius vs $2.75 for a full 100 miles per charge on the Leaf) is only $2000 over 5 years. Are they comparing a base-model Leaf with a Prius V or VI?

And those numbers will change substantially when the tax credits phase out.