2012 Oct Plugin Sales Discussion : Volt 2,961 ; Leaf 1,579

[JPWhite]

Actually Nissan could learn a bit from the boldness of Tesla. All the great press Tesla has been getting as of late is because magazine editors are being handed the fobs to Performance versions of the S. Nothing like having your face peeled back by the power of an EV to make anyone a believer!

Why Nissan is sitting still on EV performance AND scratching their heads at EV sales is beyond me. I will do "eye roll" :roll: because "beating head on wall" is missing.

The Tesla S is in a different league to the LEAF when it comes to performance, I'm not sure magazine editors would be bowled over as they are with the Tesla S. More relevant IMHO would be for Nissan to hold another series of test drive events and get 'butts in seats'. It's what made the difference between academic interest and desire to purchase for me.

 

[KJD]

Actually Nissan could learn a bit from the boldness of Tesla. All the great press Tesla has been getting as of late is because magazine editors are being handed the fobs to Performance versions of the S. Nothing like having your face peeled back by the power of an EV to make anyone a believer!
Why Nissan is sitting still on EV performance AND scratching their heads at EV sales is beyond me. I will do "eye roll" :roll: because "beating head on wall" is missing.

Yes I have made a point of putting as many friends and co workers as possible in the drivers seat of my Leaf. The reaction is always the same "Wow this drivers like a real car" Ya no kidding.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Yes I have made a point of putting as many friends and co workers as possible in the drivers seat of my Leaf. The reaction is always the same "Wow this drivers like a real car" Ya no kidding.

I've been doing the same: I'm up to 19 test drives and 8 rides in my car, with standing offers for many more.

Since I have the only LEAF within LEAF range—90miles—of here, I figure I need to do what I can so that three or five or ten years from now people will consider an EV when it comes time to replace a car. Giving the car 80 kW while going uphill gets their attention very quickly.

 

[edatoakrun]

42,700 for the LEAF and 33,036 for the Volt.
total sales since introduction as reported:

...Sales of the Nissan LEAF are rather easy to track, but sales of the Volt, due to its numerous similar iterations, can be difficult to pinpoint. Fortunately, Nissan's chief operating officer, Toshiyuki Shiga, recently provided global LEAF sales number of 42,700 units. That number includes 16,484 in the US (as of October 31, 2012), approximately 19,000 in Japan and the remaining 7,000-plus sold mainly in Europe with a few hundred LEAFs landing in countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Now, for the first time, we're seeing a comprehensive listing of global Volt sales. This listing, compiled from information posted by numerous sources, breaks down Volt sales on a country-by-country-level.

The Chevy Volt and its army of near-identical siblings (Opel Ampera, Holden Volt and Vauxhall Ampera) only cracked the 1,000-unit cumulative sales mark in four countries (US, Netherlands, Canada and Germany). In total, sales of the Volt have reached 33,036 units worldwide as of October 31, 2012. The United States leads the way by a substantial margin with 27,306 Volts delivered; followed by the Netherlands with 2,175 Amperas and 241 Volts sold; Canada with 1,350 Volts; and Germany with 1,012 Amperas and 48 Volts registered.

It's not often that Nissan releases a global LEAF sales figure at roughly the same time as comprehensive Volt sales data emerges. Oftentimes, these results will be posted months apart, making a true comparison impossible. But this time, the Volt's cumulative (2010 through 2012) sales data is current as of October 31, 2012 and Nissan's figures (launch to present) are, too. So, it's 42,700 for the LEAF and 33,036 for the Volt. ...

http://www.plugincars.com/global-nissan-leaf-sales-still-lead-chevy-volt-ampera-125302.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On a related subject, Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn answers questions about about present ad future BEV production capacity:

Are you concerned that you may have overinvested by rolling out global capacity for hundreds of thousands of EVs and their batteries?

I don't think so because our investments today correspond to about 500,000 cars a year. We feel very comfortable in the potential for at least 500,000 cars a year. We're following carefully what's going on in China. We're following very carefully the new incentives that are in France to encourage electric cars. No matter what, the United States is going to have to embrace electric cars in a way that is more sustainable. Japan is already doing it.

No, we don't think that we overinvested in this.

Are you on target to reach your stated goal of 1.5 million cumulative EV sales by 2015 for Nissan and Renault combined?

Let's not forget we're talking about the alliance performance. This is with four Renault cars, the most important one starting to sell at the beginning of 2013. So we haven't started the mass marketing of the Renault car, which is the Zoe. On top of this, we're opening a lot of doors for the Leaf. We're becoming more competitive with the Leaf and putting our act together.

It's too early to say.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121112/OEM02/311129997/ghosn-charges-ahead-on-nissans-market-share-ev-goals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[N952JL]

the price can be high or can be low depending on what we compare the car to.

I'm comparing the car to the regular prius. We all know what the differences are. We know which parts they've added (bigger battery, charger, chart port, etc) and roughly how much those parts should cost. We also know which parts have been taken away such as the old NiMh battery, spare tire, etc. So I'm at a loss as to how they justify $7,000 difference between the PiP and a regular Prius. I could see $3,000 difference, maybe even $4,000. You'd think if they wanted the car to sell better, they'd sell it at the same profit margin as the regular prius. I think they are purposefully trying to limit sales of the vehicle.

I drove my Leaf to the local dealer to check out a PIP. I was told they did not have one, and would never have one. It was never going to be offered for sale in GA period. So I can see the numbers being lower.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

We know the differences as far as parts but that is it. The changes are not free and that is the cost we dont know.

In all seemingly small changes in a car when this much weight and complexity is involved the cost can quite easily add up pretty quick. I am guessing all certifications must be redone from scratch

the price can be high or can be low depending on what we compare the car to.

I'm comparing the car to the regular prius. We all know what the differences are. We know which parts they've added (bigger battery, charger, chart port, etc) and roughly how much those parts should cost. We also know which parts have been taken away such as the old NiMh battery, spare tire, etc. So I'm at a loss as to how they justify $7,000 difference between the PiP and a regular Prius. I could see $3,000 difference, maybe even $4,000. You'd think if they wanted the car to sell better, they'd sell it at the same profit margin as the regular prius. I think they are purposefully trying to limit sales of the vehicle.