Nissan's Battery Exchange Program Details and Cost for Old Leaf Onwers

These are the main details the current Leaf owners need to know about Nissan's battery exchange program for old Leaf owners.

The battery exchange program will start in May. It will start in Japan. The cost of the battery exchange is very reasonable, I would say even affordable. It will cost old Leaf owners about 2,850 dollars.

The batteries are refabricated for old Nissan Leafs. There is a new plant in Japan for this work. According to Nissan's press release a brand new 40 kWh battery costs just a little more than the 30 kWh unit. 40 kWh stands at 820,000 yen (around $7,800) – for the modules we believe.

"Starting in May, owners of the 100% electric Nissan LEAF can turn in their used batteries and, for a fee, receive refabricated ones. Nissan is using the battery-refabrication capabilities of 4R Energy Corp., a company established through a joint venture with Sumitomo Corp., to offer the program.

As demand for electric vehicles grows, the number of used batteries will increase significantly. Nissan hopes that by reclaiming these batteries, it can help lower battery replacement costs and heighten the used-car value of electric vehicles. This will enhance the electric-car ownership experience, which in turn will help promote their use, ultimately contributing to lower CO2 emissions.

Nissan will initially offer 24-kilowatt-hour refabricated batteries for 300,000 yen apiece, with plans to expand the lineup. Exchange costs for brand-new Nissan LEAF batteries are 650,000 yen for 24 kWh; 800,000 yen for 30 kWh; and 820,000 yen for 40 kWh."

Leaf owners are excited.

This is a major news coming from Nissan. It's exciting and promising development for sure. In fact, the cost of replacing your old batteries on your Nissan Leaf is more than reasonable. A year of solid EV driving would probably pay for most of that with gasoline not purchased.

If you remember, Nissan announced the option to purchase a replacement battery in the US for $5,000, plus installation in 2014 or 2015 and it took two years for anyone to get a response about it for Canada. So, yes, it could come to US or Canada, but if it's like the other delayed response you'll have wait two years and pay double what it costs in the United States.

But this is still a very welcome development for used Nissan Leaf owners. Hopefully we will even have the possibility of getting 60KW to replace 40 from 2018 down the line.

Regarding the price in the United States, I am not sure about the 'refabricated' packs, but the news of pricing on new 30 & 40 kWh replacements is great, as it sets a ceiling on expected future replacement costs.

When do you think these battery replacement options for used Nissan Leafs will be available in the United States: months or a year from now? I personally think that US being such a major market for Leaf it will be soon.