As someone who has been an advocate of offering battery leasing/renting to get the car's purchase price down for a couple of years, I'm glad to see that Nissan is now going to offer it. But we really need clarification for new purchasers/lessors on whether or not the federal tax credit still applies if the battery is rented, as that was supposedly the reason this wasn't offered in the U.S. from the get-go.
That being said, as the vehement objections should make clear not everyone wants to rent a battery. And only warrantying the battery at 70% isn't going to cut it, when Smart is offering 80%. If they're going to stick to 70% as the basic warranty, then Nissan MUST also offer rental plans that offer replacement at higher capacities, at least 80% for the people who need it, at least until battery capacities have increased considerably. Smart is charging $80/month for 17.6kWh, so scaling up proportionally, Nissan should be charging $109.10/month for their 24kWh battery - call it $110.
Finally, I've got to give Nissan zero points (negative points would be more appropriate) as far as honesty. People made it crystal clear that they were asking for a battery price. Nissan said repeatedly that they would announce a battery price, so they can't blame miscommunication. Instead, Nissan pulls a bait and switch and announces something totally different. Regardless of the inherent value of this other offering (which is welcome and IMO overdue), it represents yet another example of Nissan out and out lying to its customers re its batteries.
ISN'T THERE A SINGLE PERSON IN ALL OF NISSAN CORPORATE CAPABLE OF GIVING A STRAIGHT, HONEST ANSWER TO A SIMPLE QUESTION?
[Edit: Shouting may not be a nice thing, but compared to lying it rates far down on my scale of things not done. And sometimes shouting is the most appropriate mode of expression]
At this point the answer appears to be 'No'. I'm so glad I didn't buy or lease one of these cars, because I trust Nissan about as far as I trusted Tricky Dick in his heyday.