The Catastrophic Error Nissan is Making with LEAF

How many people do you think are there who are willing to buy an EV, which can go 84 miles on a single charge? I hear LEAF owners are happy with it, but they also have ICE cars for long range trips.

I agree - that a 30% range increase now would greatly benefit the LEAF, at the right price. So rather than hold off on a new model with a range matching Tesla, get beyond one of the LEAF's major drawbacks now - which is it's limited range.

150 Mile Range target looks good to me and not a big error, but the delay associated with it, seems like a big risk of losing a market share. Especially when we hear news of more cheaper EVs coming to the market.

Weown a leaf, which will remain my commute car.
However we definitely need an additional car that can go 200 miles.
Simply because I go that far a couple of times a month.
And especially since 200 mikes won't be truly 200 miles, just as the current range isn't REALLY 100 miles, or even 60 miles in my case.

Armen-great article. I never thought about the Leaf battery like that. just saying we have seen comments from Andy Palmer say 2 years ago that would lead me to believe the next battery for the Leaf would give the car a 125ish mile range. Now we hear double (the 80 mile figure) from the CEO. still looks like 125 to 150 miles which works for so many more people that 80 and dropping fast. My initial thoughts were based around the lack of liquid cooling and the longevity problems that come with this design.
GM is also forcing Nissan's hand. Chevy with their planned BOLT at 200 miles range might put pressure on Nissan to wait another year and do a little better than 150 miles. Time will tell.

That's why I recently bought a Chevy Volt. While I like the Leaf, my needs require occasional long trips. My experience with a 40 mile range has instilled a sense of anxiety, though; not sure why, but it is there despite the on-board gen motor. I'm now attempting to adjust my paradigm with my lifestyle.

BTW, the gen motor should have been greener and more efficient; and the 12-14 hours to charge on 110V, while at a home charger, is still ridiculous. Faster charging is a necessity if the industry wants these things to sell; regardless of brand.

The problem with this assumption is that you are excluding a whole category of ICE owners who cannot go electric even if they wanted to because they don't live in a single family home with access to an attached or detached garage for charging at night. If you make the vehicle have a 200 mile range, all of a sudden that person can feasibly own an EV and charge it at a public charging station once or twice a week with DC fast charging. That would be a game changer.

Nissan's dealer network does NOT despite the LEAF, as Mr. Namir states. Most dealerships who are carrying the car are steadily selling them and steadily making money. Like any other vehicle, the LEAF still has warranty claims, required maintenance intervals and checkups, etc. Dealers make money on all fronts. Add in the common add-ons for the LEAF in various markets, such as winter-ready floor mats, specific tires (winter, summer, all low-rolling resistance), and so forth and dealers are seeing income from the car even after the initial sale. Some dealerships even go out of their way to promote their LEAF inventory despite their market not necessarily being "prime" for the car.

The author of this article doesn't have his facts in order. The next generation battery for the Leaf will not be the 200-250 mile range battery. It is in the 140-150 mile range and they have already begun production on it at the Smyrna, TN plant. The new Leaf's will hit dealers later this summer or early fall. I agree with the author in that us Leaf owners visit the gas station every night when we park the vehicle so we can charge pretty much whenever we want. But what about the people who live in apartments who don't have access to their own personal charger? What about that emergency that pops up while I'm at work and I suddently need to drive 100 miles for whatever reason? Another reason for the 200-250 mile range is that that is roughly the average distance between any major metro area. And the metro areas are where the DCQC's are going to be popping up first.

The pricing is never announced until vehicles are at the dealerships. They give a price range in several news articles. My guess is that the price will not go up that much due to economies of scale. The price of the raw materials to make the batteries goes down the more batteries you make. Lots of new competition for the Leaf which is good for all manufacturers and consumers.

We had a Leaf for 3 years and liked it but couldn't stomach the idea of 3 more years of limited range. We bought one of the last Rav4EVs which is rated at 90-some miles but actually goes much farther (I guess Toyota didn't want to hear any complaints). In practice the 42kwh battery comfortably goes about double the range of the Leaf. Even without the QC, it's a lot more practical.

We've had a LEAF for over 2 years now and love it. It's our in-town commuter car. We have an ICE for longer trips. However, our in-town driving does not require a lot of miles per day. We are probably the exception rather than the norm.

I agree a 150-mile LEAF would generate a lot more sales.

The reason you need a longer range has to do with climate. My Chevy Volt gives me 42-45 miles in summer, but 29-30 in winter. That is a function of the nature of lithium ion and th etypes of elctrodes used, as well as the type of electrolyte. More advancement required to be comparable to ICe in my opinion.