The end of the LEAF

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WetEV

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https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40613694/nissan-leaf-being-phased-out/

I personally will be sad to see the last of the LEAF. Although the looks are somewhat odd, the car is a very nice daily driver.
 
The obituaries are premature, and I think only Nissan will ever be able to really say if they could have in retrospect accelerated their pack size schedule. My single heart-felt criticism is holding on to CHAdeMO for far too long. I think it is fairly clear that Nissan's battery factory ambitions did not work out as planned and they now have an albatross. Too bad it did not work out, they took a big gamble and lost. Kudos for them for being one of the first to be so forward thinking and ambitious, at least early on. I still think they can salvage a place in the EV market with a value play of a CCS enabled 'LEAF.'

As for Nissan customer support -- Ughh. Shitting on the early adopters was a a series of stupid moves of the first order, insuring a mass exodus to other EVs and relegating the used LEAF to picked bone status. And of course the dealer network is atrocious overall.
 
WetEV said:
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40613694/nissan-leaf-being-phased-out/

I personally will be sad to see the last of the LEAF. Although the looks are somewhat odd, the car is a very nice daily driver.

Reports say production of the Leaf is to be phased out sometime in the mid-decade.

It's not uncommon for automotive OEMs to discontinue models over time, e.g. Porsche did it to many models - 912, 914,
944, 911SC, & 911 3.2. Porsche still produces various sports cars, e.g. Boxster, GT4 & Turbo. The key, though, is how
successful a replacement model will be, e.g. the Nissan Ariya. When will Tesla discontinue the Model S? Given its volume,
isn't it about time?
 
The first gen Leaf was indeed "Odd looking" and could be looked at as either Cute or Fugly. The second Gen leaf, however, was both an engineering marvel (using the body shell and most of the drivetrain of the Gen I to make a greatly improved, faster, more efficient, car) and a great second car to usher in the EV age. The human desire to attack things in order to gain status has never been more in evidence than in those publications who fawn over shoddily built cars with great specs, while crapping on cars that really are a joy to own - provided their best and worst uses are understood.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The first gen Leaf was indeed "Odd looking" and could be looked at as either Cute or Fugly. The second Gen leaf, however, was both an engineering marvel (using the body shell and most of the drivetrain of the Gen I to make a greatly improved, faster, more efficient, car) and a great second car to usher in the EV age. The human desire to attack things in order to gain status has never been more in evidence than in those publications who fawn over shoddily built cars with great specs, while crapping on cars that really are a joy to own - provided their best and worst uses are understood.

My Gen2/40 (2019) at 33k miles is still above 90% SOH, and is my best car ever!
 
There are many threads here complaining about Nissan, but I have had good customer service and support from the one dealer I purchased all three cars from. Also, Nissan corporate customer support has treated me well. They called me to schedule additional battery testing and battery replacement when the 2011 was two years old and before the class action lawsuit. In fact, I opted out of the class action because Nissan had already provided the capacity warranty retroactively and replaced the battery. I also disagreed with some of the tactics and arguments the plaintiff attorneys were using.

All three LEAF's are (were) very reliable with low maintenance/operating costs. I have purchased a total of three 12V batteries (one for each LEAF), several sets of windshield wiper refills, several cabin air filters, several sets of tires, and had the dealer perform annual battery tests. I generally have the dealer do brake fluid flush/fill every 2 years along with the battery tests. The battery in the 2011 was replaced by Nissan; the intelligent brake controller in the 2015 was replaced under extended warranty; and the radio/navigation unit in the 2019 was replaced under warranty. There have been no other issues or significant expenses.

Although the CHAdeMO connector system is much more robust than CCS, most manufacturers except Tesla have embraced CCS so there is no real choice for Nissan other than to equip their new models with CCS.

I hope nothing happens to the 2019 because I plan to drive it for a long time. I will be sorry to see the LEAF discontinued and hope Nissan's new EV's are successful.
 
I left a thought unfinished in my post above - I'm not very well at the moment. Anyway, while the Gen I Leaf had polarizing looks, the Gen II is nothing but normal looking. In fact, while it wasn't yet apparent when the cars came out, Nissan ended up making most of their cars look like...Gen II Leafs. The Murano looks like a Leaf SUV, the Sentra and Altima sometimes fool me in parking lots into thinking that they are Leafs...I don't see how anyone can find them ugly. Bland, maybe, but not ugly.
 
I still suspect that Nissan's schizophrenic approach to LEAF was a mirror of the rift between Ghosn and other Nissan executives.
 
Nubo said:
I still suspect that Nissan's schizophrenic approach to LEAF was a mirror of the rift between Ghosn and other Nissan executives.
I would go a step further than that: I think Nissan's focus on removing Ghosn effectively cost them EV leadership (which he originally drove). I don't want to turn this thread into a Ghosn debate/referendum, but I think it derailed years (and millions if not billions of $) of investment in EVs.
I also second @GerryAz positive view of Nissan's customer service and support for the Leaf...and continue to root for their success with the Ariya.
 
Stanton said:
Nubo said:
I still suspect that Nissan's schizophrenic approach to LEAF was a mirror of the rift between Ghosn and other Nissan executives.
I would go a step further than that: I think Nissan's focus on removing Ghosn effectively cost them EV leadership (which he originally drove). I don't want to turn this thread into a Ghosn debate/referendum, but I think it derailed years (and millions if not billions of $) of investment in EVs.
I also second @GerryAz positive view of Nissan's customer service and support for the Leaf...and continue to root for their success with the Ariya.

I agree with Nubo and Stanton and have always thought that other Nissan executives wanted to make the LEAF fail to help in their plan to remove Ghosn. Except for the original battery chemistry that did not tolerate heat well, the 2011 models were very well designed and manufactured. I would probably still have mine if it had not met its untimely demise. I am sure I would have put in a 40 kWh or 62 kWh battery by now.
 
I hope there is still a leaf owner that will reply..
I'm in the market for a used leaf. They're quite incredible cars, not perfect but vastly superior to ICE versions of small, short range usage town cars.
Why are leafs not more in demand, charge it in my garage, drive it 30-50 mi. My supermarket has free chargers here in NC. Fiat, Smart, Mini & others are short trip fun to drive cars- they support Exxon and are costly to maintain & fuel.
Nissan it seems has never stood behind the leaf. The Ariya is 10K more, starting to get into Model 3 pricing & will never compete with a Tesla.
Little of what I'm reading about the leaf makes any sense. "Leafs lose too much value, worse than comparable ICE cars" I'm seeing 2018-19s for sale only a few thousand less than a new S.
"need min 240 mi range to be desirable" I don't need 240 mi & I don't want to pay for twice the battery I'll need.
None of the car companies can build electric cars & trucks fast enough & Nissan is ditching this affordable, economical, fun car.
What am I missing?
 
Welcome. The market for technology is both fickle and driven by new, "Bleeding Edge" features that are often less important to older, often Retired people like you and me. We care much more about comfort and reliability than about DC Fast Charging speed and sophistication of an EV's driving assist suite.
 
EWevdriver said:
None of the car companies can build electric cars & trucks fast enough & Nissan is ditching this affordable, economical, fun car.
What am I missing?

Welcome!
The EV market is always changing, so I find that it's best to keep an eye on it often.
Latest I've seen from Nissan is that the Leaf is here to stay (for now):
https://www.autoblog.com/2022/11/17/nissan-leaf-nameplate-sticking-around-la-auto-show/

https://insideevs.com/news/622591/nissan-leaf-nameplate-not-dropped/
 
EWevdriver said:
I hope there is still a leaf owner that will reply..
I'm in the market for a used leaf. They're quite incredible cars, not perfect but vastly superior to ICE versions of small, short range usage town cars.
You're "preaching to the choir"! I think if the Leaf had initially been available with a 40 kWh pack (like I have now)...it would have been a runaway best seller. Unfortunately, that technology price point wasn't there in 2011 and other manufacturers caught up to Nissan when Ghosn was no longer around to push EVs. Yes, their resale value has always been poor (mostly due to battery degradation), but I don't buy a car as an investment, I buy it to drive...which I continue to do into the the second decade of my Leaf!
 
Thanks for all the posts, interesting insights. Went back & read about the Ghosan brew-ha. Certainly part of Nissan's loss of interest.
I still think that in 2023 a $30-32k 200mi ev using CCS and a few other cheap to provide upgrades would fly out the door if actually built & marketed.
The US will probably be importing chinese evs with similar price & range soon, and dominate the <30k market.
Ew
 
It's not just Nissan displaying a lack of interest in EVs. Toyota, Honda and Subaru are late to the table. I wonder why. Is it the high cost of materials? Having to buy batteries from Korea or China?
 
I do wonder if Nissan actually makes money on their Leafs. At 1K a month sales in the US, that is not exactly amazing scale to get efficiency out of for your manufacturing. It looms like G. Has solved the equation, and are ramping up the Bolt until their their other EVs come online. Bolt is still the best value by a wide margin if you want an entry level EV.

EVs are still a sellers market and Nissan could sell 3x the jumper of Leafs without much effort. Bit if they aren't making money on them I guess you would limit production.

ICE vehicle supply appears to have balanced and the dealer lots have partially refilled.
 
Leaf is also sold outside the US.

Also, the EM57 motor used in '13+ Leaf is/was used in a bunch of e-Power hybrids like the below (search for EM57):
https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/uv/nissan-launches-kicks-e-power-suv-in-thailand/75772266
https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/nissan-launches-the-all-new-serena-in-japan
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=576069#p576069

Notice the shifter in https://www.torque.com.sg/reviews/nissan-note-e-power-review/?

It's also likely the AESC Envision is still also the supplier of batteries for their e-Power hybrids.
 
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