Nissan Walks the Walk on Affordable EVs While Other EV Makers Talk the Talk

The automotive and electric vehicle advocacy press have been hyping affordable 2025 model-year vehicles from General Motors, Volvo, Aptera, and Volkswagen, but so far, none are actually on sale. By contrast, the Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle is available right now, and its 2025 model year S trim starts at just $29,280, including its Destination and Handling fee. The really interesting part is that dealers are discounting leftover 2024 Leaf S trims, bringing the price to around $21K before negotiations even begin.

The 2025 Leaf is a carryover year from 2024. The Leaf is not redesigned for 2025. That means that the 2024 Leafs left on dealer lots are going to be extremely likely to be heavily discounted by dealers. We found two within 20 miles of our home office with $9,250 dealer discounts. These vehicles may also qualify for state rebates in Massachusetts of up to $6,000, bringing their prices to around $15K.

Chevrolet’s Equinox EV has launched, but not the 1LT trim that GM promised would cost “Around $30K.” That price has been elevated since we last heard about it, and it is not yet on sale. Only the higher-cost trims starting in the mid-$40Ks are on sale now. The Volvo EX-30 was supposed to offer shoppers a Chinese-built EV for a price near $35K in the U.S., but we have no news that that has actually happened yet. Finally, Volkswagen, whose EV sales were down 37% at the end of Q1 and who just delayed a new EV, is starting to hint at a low-cost EV of around $25K. All of these EVs don’t presently exist as options for U.S. consumers. It is all just talk so far. Still, the press pretends they are real cars one can actually buy. It’s a shame some outlets and reports feel the need to hype imaginary EVs when real ones are for sale now for around $20K after dealer discounts.

Let’s not pretend that the base Nissan Leaf S is an EVangelist's dream. With a limited range of just 149 miles in ideal conditions, the Leaf S is clearly a second car or a car for occasional urban use. The Leaf also doesn’t have a DC fast charger compatible with CCS or NACS, so good luck on road trips. Honestly, we couldn't care less about those things. We’ve driven the Leaf in New England winters and loved the car. It has a fun personality and is very practical for those who want a new car at an affordable price for certain uses. 

The Leaf SV Plus is also a very affordable EV and has dramatically better specs. Its battery is 50% larger than the S trims, and it offers a more reasonable 212-mile range (in ideal conditions). The 2025 SV Plus starts at $37,330.We found deals offering around $5K off new 2024 Leaf SV Plus cars close to our office. 

The EVangelist press has been harping on about imaginary “low-cost EVs” for years. The odd thing is, they are here, they are real, and they are in stock with massive discounts. It's odd these are not the answer to everyone's hopes. 

Here are some examples of the press hyping low-cost EVs that are not for sale in the U.S.:

1) Carscoups: VW’s America Boss Wants To Sell The ID.2 GTI Stateside
The punchy hot hatch could be a winner if it is priced between $20,000 and $25,000

2) Motor1: VW Wants to Sell its Electric GTI For $25,000 in the US

3) TFL EVs: The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV Is the Cheapest New Electric Car: Is It Any Good? The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV is the most affordable EV on the market, with prices starting under $30,000.

4) Detroit Free Press: The game-changing $35K 2025 Volvo EX30 may be America's next hit EV

5) Elektrek: Volvo flexes its pricing power for EVs with the EX30 rolling out for $35,000. "Volvo’s new EX30, starting under $35,000 (36,000 euros), is one of the most affordable EVs on the market."

6) Elektrek: Aptera has more than 22,000 reservations for its solar electric car with up to 1,000 miles of range "With that kind of efficiency, it can achieve 250 miles of range on a fairly small battery pack, resulting in a vehicle starting at just $25,900."

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John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work at our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ Grammarly grammar and punctuation software when proofreading. 

Image of Nissan Leaf courtesy of Nissan. Screen grabs of Leaf prices from Marlboro (Mass.) Nissan.