2013 July Plugin Sales Discussion : Leaf 1864 ; Volt 1788

[DaveinOlyWA]

They have to plan production based on estimates. If estimates turn out to be wrong - they face consequences - either produce too much and lose money or not produce enough and lose some money.

they only need to tweak the lease rates a bit to spur sales. very little doubt in my mind that sales dipped a bit due to less favorable terms

 

[RegGuheert]

Musk was talking this week about the difficulty in ramping up production. Specifically discussed batteries and how difficult a process it is. Needs to be very precise and is time sensitive.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.cnbc.com%2Fgallery%2F%3Fvideo%3D3000193143&ei=gyEYUrI65MvZBar9gKgP&usg=AFQjCNEa-8dkcKun-yVbuFIJzuFpgL5YUw&sig2=vt2TDct5RvNVsImC7w6-VQ&bvm=bv.51156542,d.b2I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Excellent video! Thanks!

 

[evnow]

They have to plan production based on estimates. If estimates turn out to be wrong - they face consequences - either produce too much and lose money or not produce enough and lose some money.

they only need to tweak the lease rates a bit to spur sales. very little doubt in my mind that sales dipped a bit due to less favorable terms

True, that. However we know the residuals are being changed to track auction prices, so it is a correction. We have to see if Nissan does something later on to make lease better again - then we know they deliberately made it worse t reduce demand now.

 

[Berlino]

I bought a Smart Electric in May 2013.

I could not get a date when the 2013 Leaf would be available, when the US matching price reduction would kick in, nor would the dealers here in Toronto do anything to reassure or sell to me.

Glad you were able to get locked into an EV that you like.

I had a similar experience when visiting a Ford dealership shortly before I purchased the LEAF. The salesman had no idea that Ford USA had just announced a $4,000 price drop for the MY14 Focus EV.

Nor did he have any idea when Ford Canada would announce their price, except that he downplayed a similar discount because "Ford Canada is independently operated." Then he told me that the Ford Employees price program (about a $3,200 manufacturer's discount) was not good on the MY13 EV. Only on the MY12, despite them having zero MY12's in inventory and at least three MY13's.

You get the impression Ford isn't trying to sell their EV in Canada, yet they pay $$$ to have a Focus EV ad pop-up whenever I google Nissan Leaf.