2013 Nissan Leaf Edges Closer To Production In Smyrna, TN

[bradbissell]

Looks like the Smyrna Plant has stopped production of the Frontier and Xterra which is very good news. How long does retooling for car production take? Could the 2013 LEAF be a month away?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1078765_2013-nissan-leaf-edges-closer-to-production-in-smyrna-tn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[edatoakrun]

Looks like the Smyrna Plant has stopped production of the Frontier and Xterra which is very good news. How long does retooling for car production take? Could the 2013 LEAF be a month away?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1078765_2013-nissan-leaf-edges-closer-to-production-in-smyrna-tn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All reports I've seen are that both LEAF and battery production are still on the long-announced schedule.

No US built LEAFs till at least December. Anyone heard whether there will be a Japanese-built 2013, before US deliveries begin?

Reported on 8/14/12:

Reacting to the profit-sapping effects of the strengthening yen, Nissan plans to continue moving production operations out of Japan.

In just over three years, Nissan will spend $5.2 billion to add 425,000 units of new production capacity in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil, says Carla Bailo, senior vice president-research and development, Nissan Americas.

The new investments will include ...200,000 Leaf electric-car battery packs in Tennessee...

Nissan is investing $1.7 billion to produce the Leaf EV at its big assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, starting in December and battery packs beginning in September...

http://wardsauto.com/plants-amp-production/nissan-build-85-us-vehicles-locally-2015

 

[TomT]

While it is certainly possible that they could split production, it would not appear to make much financial sense to do so. Thus, I don't expect we'll see the 2013 here until late 2012 or early 2013...

No US built LEAFs till at least December. Anyone heard whether there will be a Japanese-built 2013, before US deliveries begin?

 

[philipscoggins]

Got a friend who works at Nissan who told me they were on schedule to start test runs of car parts in September.
He said that the Japanese are sticklers for deadlines and he's sure they will be on time.

I've already got my Blink charger installed at the house and am pacing the room waiting on my 2013 LEAF...

Philip

 

[FairwoodRed]

Got a friend who works at Nissan who told me they were on schedule to start test runs of car parts in September.
He said that the Japanese are sticklers for deadlines and he's sure they will be on time.

Philip

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Is this why the estimated delivery dates fluxuated so much last year? Or why my car didn't arrive until 3 months after the estimated delivery date? (Pollen car...)

All funny business aside, I would hope that Nissan would place a higher priority on getting the new plant working well than on getting it working on time.

 

[philipscoggins]

I can't speak to your delays, just going on my inside guy said.

Not a salesman, but a lineworker.

Philip

 

[TomT]

"Test runs of car parts" can still mean that actual vehicle production is quite some time off...

I can't speak to your delays, just going on my inside guy said.
Not a salesman, but a lineworker.
Philip

 

[ztanos]

Got a friend who works at Nissan who told me they were on schedule to start test runs of car parts in September.
He said that the Japanese are sticklers for deadlines and he's sure they will be on time.

Philip

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Is this why the estimated delivery dates fluxuated so much last year? Or why my car didn't arrive until 3 months after the estimated delivery date? (Pollen car...)

All funny business aside, I would hope that Nissan would place a higher priority on getting the new plant working well than on getting it working on time.

I think this may have been a large wall of waters fault.

 

[Valdemar]

With the declining sales numbers and battery degradation crisis about the only thing I'm curious about now is how much longer before they pull the plug on the Leaf.

 

[OrientExpress]

With the declining sales numbers and battery degradation crisis about the only thing I'm curious about now is how much longer before they pull the plug on the Leaf.

The 2013 is on schedule and Nissan is in EVs for the long haul. The focus right now is inventory balancing the remaining 2012 cars, and clearing them out(shortages in some markets, overstock in others) Now is a great time to get a deal on a 2012.

 

[TomT]

As long as you drive in a temperature controlled room or a cave... :lol:

Now is a great time to get a deal on a 2012.

 

[Stoaty]

Now is a great time to get a deal on a 2012.

We also have some nice swamp land in Florida and a bridge in New York for sale. Prices will never be lower. Don't miss out!

 

[Valdemar]

Nissan is in EVs for the long haul.

Is there any real proof that is true? All I've heard so far is PR from Nissan and we all know what it is worth. Only time will tell, but at present the future does not look very bright.

 

[Herm]

Perhaps BEVs wont survive in the US with its ingrained car culture and low cost of fuel.. but I'm sure many places in the world will take up the slack.. Japan as an example.

 

[TomT]

Equally if not more important, the limited distances that they generally drive in Japan coupled with the slow speeds are well suited for BEVs. We don't have those same situations in most of the U.S.

Perhaps BEVs wont survive in the US with its ingrained car culture and low cost of fuel.. but I'm sure many places in the world will take up the slack.. Japan as an example.

 

[OrientExpress]

Nissan is in EVs for the long haul.

Is there any real proof that is true? All I've heard so far is PR from Nissan and we all know what it is worth. Only time will tell, but at present the future does not look very bright.

Just the Billion $+ investment that Nissan has made in manufacturing facilities around the world for batteries and vehicles.

Equally if not more important, the limited distances that they generally drive in Japan coupled with the slow speeds are well suited for BEVs. We don't have those same situations in most of the U.S.

The misperception that extreme range is necessary vs. what the average daily trip mileage in the US really is, really needs work, as it has not been communicated well. Once the realization that 90% of all daily usage in the US is under 60 miles becomes more apparent, combined with incremental increased range for BEVs, and the obvious economic sense that BEVs make vs. ICE cars, things will really take off.

Regular gas costing north of $4.50, combined with a BEV with 125 ~ 150 of real range and a price point starting at under $30K is the sweet spot to drive Joe Sixpack to consider a BEV. Until then it will remain a niche product that primarily the smart buyer will consider.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Nissan is in EVs for the long haul.

Is there any real proof that is true? All I've heard so far is PR from Nissan and we all know what it is worth. Only time will tell, but at present the future does not look very bright.

Just the Billion $+ investment that Nissan has made in manufacturing facilities around the world for batteries and vehicles.

There are plenty of multi-billion dollar write-offs in the world. Heck, my government agency wrote off almost $2 billion on one project. Easy. Plus, Nissan did do this with a LOAN from..... the US government ($1.9 billion loaned, $1.6 billion used by Nissan). So, honestly, the money already spent won't be the reason they stick in the game.

There are plenty of companies that close the doors every day, and many of them are singing happy tunes right until the day the doors are locked. Ask the Solyndra folks how the half billion US tax payer dollars went, and what the company was telling them right up until the doors were locked.

As far as a world wide company goes, I think it's smart to continue in the EV game. One big oil scare could turn this whole thing around for EV's. But, I also think it was beyond dumb to use a battery that many of the experts (outside of Nissan) thought was not suitable for hot climates. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

But, we all make mistakes. How Nissan deals with those mistakes will be the true test of their grit.

 

[RegGuheert]

Regular gas costing north of $4.50, combined with a BEV with 125 ~ 150 of real range and a price point starting at under $30K is the sweet spot to drive Joe Sixpack to consider a BEV. Until then it will remain a niche product that primarily the smart buyer will consider.

I can certainly agree with that assessment! I will say there is also a requirement that both the battery and the electric drivetrain need to be sufficiently reliable to last long enough to allow for the economics to come out ahead.

The Nissan LEAF has so far demonstrated extremely high reliability in the drive electronics. I give Nissan very high marks in this area, which is anything but trivial. The battery has proven to be quite reliable in cool climates and quite unreliable in hot climates. In moderate climates, the jury is still out.

Really we are very close to the point where this market will really take off, but Nissan needs a better battery solution for all but the coolest climates.

 

[surfingslovak]

There are plenty of companies that close the doors every day, and many of them are singing happy tunes right until the day the doors are locked. Ask the Solyndra folks how the half billion US tax payer dollars went, and what the company was telling them right up until the doors were locked.

For what it's worth, I was at Solyndra two weeks before the shutdown, and they were indeed singing happy tunes.

 

[TonyWilliams]

There are plenty of companies that close the doors every day, and many of them are singing happy tunes right until the day the doors are locked. Ask the Solyndra folks how the half billion US tax payer dollars went, and what the company was telling them right up until the doors were locked.

For what it's worth, I was at Solyndra two weeks before the shutdown, and they were indeed singing happy tunes.

While the managers were sucking up their bonuses and cleaning out their desks. Just business as usual.