2012 Dec Plugin Sales Discussion : Volt 2,633 ; Leaf 1,489

[cwerdna]

From October to now, Yen has gone from 78 or 86. Or importing Leaf is 10% cheaper now for Nissan.

so, is it cheaper for nissan to export or import to the usa now?
are they still making leaf in japan?will they export the us made car?if they export will this exchange rate change be good for price or bad?

With the weaker yen, it is cheaper for Nissan to export from Japan to the US now. Previously, the yen/dollar exchange rate situation was pretty terrible for all Japanese automakers building cars in Japan.

Yes, they are definitely still making Leafs in Japan but Nissan's indicated that '13 US Leafs will be built here in the US.

Don't know if Nissan will export US-made Leafs abroad. My guess is maybe, if it makes economic sense for them. The US battery plant in TN will be very underutilized so perhaps they might export its output. I'm unclear about Smyrna, TN's production capacity and current utilization levels but it produces a bunch of vehicles beyond the Altima (http://www.nissanusa.com/about/corporate-info/nissan-in-north-america.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

edit: I stumbled across http://wardsauto.com/plants-amp-production/north-america-capacity-utilization-rising-use-3-crewshift-auto-plants" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[evnow]

From October to now, Yen has gone from 78 or 86. Or importing Leaf is 10% cheaper now for Nissan.

so, is it cheaper for nissan to export or import to the usa now?
are they still making leaf in japan?will they export the us made car?if they export will this exchange rate change be good for price or bad?

It is cheaper to import to US (since Yen is less costly now). But, historically Yen is still very high - and the economics of EVs is such that it is cheaper to make them close to where you want to sell them.

 

[Jay]

/really hate how hard it is to get Ford's numbers out in a timely fashion.

I will shamelessly promote my own article on the subject, as Ford made me work the weekend to get the numbers out, lol:
http://insideevs.com/ford-plug-ins-end-the-year-strong-but-can-they-be-the-best-in-2013/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

C-MaxEnergi: 971
FocusElectric: 167

(I also have some inventory/dealer figures in the ditty if anyone is interested in that sort of thing)

 

[evnow]

C-MaxEnergi: 971
FocusElectric: 167

(I also have some inventory/dealer figures in the ditty if anyone is interested in that sort of thing)

As I commented in your blog, suprising to see Energi number go down a bit. Not enough production ?

 

[Jay]

C-MaxEnergi: 971
FocusElectric: 167

(I also have some inventory/dealer figures in the ditty if anyone is interested in that sort of thing)

As I commented in your blog, suprising to see Energi number go down a bit. Not enough production ?

That's it on the money. Ford actually produced less than they sold, and finished out the last day of the month with a little over 150 units in inventory (only a couple dozen in California)...also hurting them is a 2 week holiday shutdown and a hot new product.

Not that they are saying this specifically, but I think there is probably some initial production capacity/allocation issues between the 7.6 kWh electric powertrains between the two Energis (thats just my own WAG though)

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

From October to now, Yen has gone from 78 or 86. Or importing Leaf is 10% cheaper now for Nissan.

so, is it cheaper for nissan to export or import to the usa now?
are they still making leaf in japan?will they export the us made car?if they export will this exchange rate change be good for price or bad?

It is cheaper to import to US (since Yen is less costly now). But, historically Yen is still very high - and the economics of EVs is such that it is cheaper to make them close to where you want to sell them.

i think yen was close to 100/dollar when the LEAF was announced. Last time I was in the area, it was about 220/dollar i think. but that has been a "few" years.

 

[cwerdna]

i think yen was close to 100/dollar when the LEAF was announced. Last time I was in the area, it was about 220/dollar i think. but that has been a "few" years.

Ha. 220 yen to a dollar was a LONG time ago.

My first visit (of 4) to Japan was in October 2001. Back then it was $1 == ~115 to 120 yen. It was definitely much worse for me on my trip there in late 09.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1+us+dollar+in+yen+from+january+1%2C+2001+to+today" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; shows 1/1/01 until today. It says the max in that timeframe was 134.81 yen == $1.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i think yen was close to 100/dollar when the LEAF was announced. Last time I was in the area, it was about 220/dollar i think. but that has been a "few" years.

Ha. 220 yen to a dollar was a LONG time ago.

My first visit (of 4) to Japan was in October 2001. Back then it was $1 == ~115 to 120 yen. It was definitely much worse for me on my trip there in late 09.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1+us+dollar+in+yen+from+january+1%2C+2001+to+today" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; shows 1/1/01 until today. It says the max in that timeframe was 134.81 yen == $1.

this was 1985... a while ago

**edit** actually more than i thought it was april 1985 and it was 251.67/dollar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_yen#Historical_exchange_rate" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[scottf200]

C-MaxEnergi: 971
FocusElectric: 167
(I also have some inventory/dealer figures in the ditty if anyone is interested in that sort of thing)

As I commented in your blog, suprising to see Energi number go down a bit. Not enough production ?

That's it on the money. Ford actually produced less than they sold, and finished out the last day of the month with a little over 150 units in inventory (only a couple dozen in California)...also hurting them is a 2 week holiday shutdown and a hot new product.Not that they are saying this specifically, but I think there is probably some initial production capacity/allocation issues between the 7.6 kWh electric powertrains between the two Energis (thats just my own WAG though)

With all the other manufacturers getting into they plug-in hybrid that dramatically up the "MPG Used" it seems to me Nissan/LEAF missed their window of opportunity in the USA. Perhaps that is not important and we are not their main focus because of our cheap gas. I can't see the LEAF sales doing much better than they have with all the competition. The Ford Energi offerings as well do not have the politial baggage of GM so I think that will help. They Prius fanbays and longevity will "carry" the Plug-in-prius. The CA HOV access sells a lot of cars for all of these companies.

 

[evnow]

With all the other manufacturers getting into they plug-in hybrid that dramatically up the "MPG Used" it seems to me Nissan/LEAF missed their window of opportunity in the USA. Perhaps that is not important and we are not their main focus because of our cheap gas. I can't see the LEAF sales doing much better than they have with all the competition. The Ford Energi offerings as well do not have the politial baggage of GM so I think that will help. They Prius fanbays and longevity will "carry" the Plug-in-prius. The CA HOV access sells a lot of cars for all of these companies.

I think each new plug-in model will increase the market. Once someone gets a PHEV they become more open to owning an EV as well.

But I do think Nissan should come up with their own PHEVs - esp for Altima & Rogue/Pathfinder.

 

[scottf200]

With all the other manufacturers getting into they plug-in hybrid that dramatically up the "MPG Used" it seems to me Nissan/LEAF missed their window of opportunity in the USA. Perhaps that is not important and we are not their main focus because of our cheap gas. I can't see the LEAF sales doing much better than they have with all the competition. The Ford Energi offerings as well do not have the politial baggage of GM so I think that will help. They Prius fanbays and longevity will "carry" the Plug-in-prius. The CA HOV access sells a lot of cars for all of these companies.

I think each new plug-in model will increase the market.

I think the most important aspect of how it increases the market is that Ford fans will buy a Ford, GM fans will buy a GM, Honda fans will buy a Honda, etc. If they have a choice. I'm a Ford fan but bought my first GM/Chevrolet because there was no equivalent.

Once someone gets a PHEV they become more open to owning an EV as well.

To me this is true in that I'd consider a Tesla with 200+ range. I still would never get an EV with ~73 mile range. The practial range is not enough. This is a great thread by adric22 who owns Volt & LEAF and described that!!
Volt Vs. Leaf practical range comparison: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=9576" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But I do think Nissan should come up with their own PHEVs - esp for Altima & Rogue/Pathfinder.

Indeed I had a thread about this:
Nissan (PHEV) Plug-in Hybrid Elect Veh 2015? 2016?: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6840" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[cwerdna]

Leaf ranked 178 at the URL below.
2012 U.S. Vehicle Rankings - Top 266 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - Every Vehicle Ranked:
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/01/2012-usa-auto-sales-rankings-by-model7.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[tps]

I still would never get an EV with ~73 mile range. The practial range is not enough.

This is the case for some people. However, I've driven the LEAF as an "only" car for 11 months now, and rarely have a problem with it's range. And on the couple occasions I have run into a range issue, it turned out that the real issue was that there was no charging available at my destination. For instance, I had to make a trip to Old Bridge NJ. Had I been able to charge at Old Bridge, there would have been no problem. As it was, I charged at Hamilton NJ for a couple hours on the way up, and at Princeton NJ for an hour on the way back.