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Nissan: 12,000 Leafs Will Be Sold in U.S. by End of 2011

 
1,771 views Jun 2, 2011
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2011 Nissan Leaf

2011 Nissan Leaf

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Yesterday the monthly sales figures for the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt were released, giving rise to the usual slew of articles picking apart the buying decisions of U.S. car buyers. 

But behind the traditional media frenzy on the first of every month as plug-in vehicle sales figures are released comes the news that Nissan says it can finish delivering the 2011 Leaf to every customer who has been patiently waiting for one since the pre-ordering process started back in April last year - and perhaps more besides.

Slow start


So far deliveries of the all-electric family hatchback have been slow, with only 2,167 cars being shipped in the U.S. in the six months since the car was launched. 

Despite the devastating Earthquake and Tsunami earlier this year which temporarily halted production at the Japanese factory where the Leaf is produced, Nissan was less affected by the disaster than fellow Japanese firms Honda and Toyota, succeeding in shipping almost as many Leafs to U.S. customers as its Detroit rival Chevrolet shipped 2011 Volts in the six months since both cars were launched. 

John Duncan takes delivery of one of the first 2011 Nissan LEAF EVs, near Portland OR, 12/15/2010

John Duncan takes delivery of one of the first 2011 Nissan LEAF EVs, near Portland OR, 12/15/2010

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55% reservation to order confirmation

Interestingly, of the 20,000, $99 ‘waiting list’ reservations Nissan took between April and September last year, only 55 percent of those reservations, or 11,000 customers went forward to confirm an order.

Since the controversial online ordering system was replaced with the more conventional dealer-based ordering system, an additional 1,000 cars have been ordered. 

10% delivered so far, 90% to go

With only 10 percent (2,167) cars delivered to the end of May, Nissan has the gargantuan task of delivering the remaining 90% of ordered Leafs by the end of the year, representing a huge increase in demand on the automaker. 

Although Nissan is in the process of preparing its production facility in Smyrna Tennessee to begin U.S. domestic production of the Leaf in 2012, all 2011and 2012 Nissan Leafs will originate from Nissan’s Oppama factory. With every third car rolling off the production line a Leaf, the factory is working hard to ensure that worldwide demand is met from customers in Europe, Asia and North America.

Fast Charging 2011 Nissan Leaf

Fast Charging 2011 Nissan Leaf

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Are you next?

If you’ve reserved and confirmed your order for a 2011 Nissan Leaf and have yet to get it we’d love to hear from you. When did you get your confirmation, and when is your delivery expected to take place? 

Let us know in the Comments below. 

[SFgate]





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Comments (20)

  1. N Riley Posted: 6/2/2011 7:45am PDT

    I paid my $99 back in August last year. I am still sitting in the same position. The next step in the process is not available to me to take. I don't know why unless it is because I live in Mississippi and Nissan had said when I registered that it would be late 2011 before I could receive a Leaf. Are there others in the same position?
     
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  2. Derek Bill Posted: 6/2/2011 7:53am PDT

    I'm in New Mexico and paid my $99 last summer as well. Chomping at the bit here, but I do not believe NM will start getting Leafs until well into next year. Hope I'm wrong about that......
     
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  3. Jim Posted: 6/2/2011 7:53am PDT

    Ordered my Leaf on 4/20/10. After initially thinking I would be in the December 2010 deliveries, I recently had my delivery date announced as the week of June 24th. Definitely not impressed with the on-line ordering process and the terrible communication that went along with it. Also, no apology for the process and poor communication was ever given by Nissan. With that being said, my test drive of a Leaf kept me excited for my car. Still, the Leaf is the perfect fit for my daily commutes and nearly all of my driving distances.
     
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  4. Warren Posted: 6/2/2011 8:19am PDT

    This is the most confused "news" I have read yet! It is ridiculous to talk about what % of the initial 20k bought a Leaf, when, like myself, many have not been allowed to order yet. The EV news mill needs to go back to hyping smart phone apps, until we actual have EV's we can buy.
     
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  5. lessor Posted: 6/2/2011 8:22am PDT

    The press has got to do a better job of explaining what is going on. There is a difference between an original reservation, secondary reservation, order and delivery. This is complicated by the state in which a car was reserved.
    Many of us the Northern climes reserved in April for 2010 and have had 0, none, nada information given to us as to when we will be able to order and take delivery on a car. For those, it doesn't seem likely that we will be getting cars this year - at least based on what we haven't been told.
     
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  6. Stephen Tutza Posted: 6/2/2011 9:48am PDT

    I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro area. I placed my order for the LEAF on 04/20/10. I was originally told that I'd receive my LEAF at the end of April 2011. I had my charging station installed on 04/18/11. I've had the VIN for my LEAF since the end of April but I still do not have the car. They keep moving the delivery date out. Today my Nissan web page is saying the delivery will be the week of 06/02/11 (today).
     
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  7. fnelson avatar Fred Nelson Posted: 6/2/2011 9:56am PDT

    I live in Olympia Washington and put my reservation and down payment on the car on July 31, 2010. I applied for the free charging system and installation, and was accepted a few months later. The Blink charging dock was installed on May 12, 2011 and the car is to be delivered on June 7th. I've been in touch with the local Nissan dealer and am pretty confident about the delivery date as I already have a VIN # for the car. While I expected the car to be delivered sooner, everything has gone pretty smoothly. Maybe it's due to living in Washington, one of the rollout states.
     
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  8. Jack Posted: 6/2/2011 11:18am PDT

    ordered my leaf on the fist day, 4/20/2010, and took delivery this past weekend...
    strangely I received an update from Nissan on 4/8 saying that the car will be ready in end of June, but the car ended up ready a month month ahead of schedule. The fact that I received the car ahead of schedule indicates to me that either Nissan is ramping production, or there are a lot of cancellations.
     
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  9. David Posted: 6/2/2011 11:47am PDT

    We put our $99 down last July and we have not gotten the opportunity to order yet?? I do not know where those 55% numbers are coming from because I hope we are not in the %45. WE WANT THE CAR 9 MONTHS AGO AND WE STILL WANT IT NOW. David - Birmingham Al.
     
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  10. Steve Donaldson Posted: 6/2/2011 1:20pm PDT

    I reserved my Leaf back in '09, after waiting nearly 2 years I finally got online with them a week or two ago to ask what the status was and they told me I will not be contacted until 2012, I said "can you tell me when in 2012?" and they said no, just some time in 2012 so I went to thier website, cancelled my reservation and got my $100 back. In conversations with GM, they told me if I come into the dealer and plunk down a reservation I can have one is 3 months, I was pretty happy to talk to them about it. However, i'm betting on the Focus EV to be the first one to market around here in Michigan.
     
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  11. Alan Posted: 6/2/2011 1:38pm PDT

    I love in Northern Virginia, outside DC. We ordered our car with the downpayment 4/23/2010. We have not had any communications except last fall when the dealer contacted us to confirm their selection as dealer. The dealer has not responded to my calls. Communication, other than the road tour, has been nil. Still looking forward to the car.
     
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  12. Eletruk Posted: 6/2/2011 2:29pm PDT

    I put my $99 down on a reservation the day it was available. So after waiting over a year, I was given the option to put in an order. However, Ford announced (and showed) the Focus EV and I decided that I would wait until I could see what the production vehicle looked like before I decided. Since I already am driving an EV, I felt it would be better to give up my place in line to another deserving customer. At least until I can decide which car I am going to get. Currently, all my vehicles are Ford, Ranger EV, Escape Hybrid, and a Festiva conversion. So a little brand loyalty is involved here (even though I own a Murano which I loved).
     
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  13. Kent Posted: 6/2/2011 3:17pm PDT

    The reservations opened again here in Phoenix and we put down our $99 to get in line. The confirmation email said that it will take "3-4" months after ordering from a dealer. I told my wife that don't expect to see it for a year. The ironic part is that I can see a Leaf every day from my office window on a giant electronic billboard with a "Zero is worth Everything" ad.
     
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  14. Jim Posted: 6/2/2011 8:03pm PDT

    Nissan OBVIOUSLY has screwed this ordering process up. I have not put down a deposit, nor will I. There are too many other options, which I will most certainly take advantage of. By the way, having the plug in receptacle in the front of the car is not the best location for it. I like the placement that Ford has announced, which is on the driver side front fender. Think about it... Walk to your car and see it's plugged in, unplug, open door, drive off. Makes much more sense then having it at the front bumper. Sorry Nissan, I'll take my money elsewhere, and be MUCH better off for doing so.
     
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  15. Gary C. Posted: 6/2/2011 8:27pm PDT

    We live in Portland OR. We signed up to reserve a LEAF late December 2009. Reserved it 4/20/10. Ordered on 10/1/10. On 2/8/11, we were told our LEAF would arrive “month of May 2011.” Even after the earthquake the status remained the same. On 4/6 our status went to “pending.” Ok. But the next day it was “week of April 21.” Our charging station was installed 4/18 (a Blink through the EV Project). Then, on 4/20/11, our status returned to “pending.” I called Nissan and they told me our car had never actually been built and wasn’t on the way. Shortly after, our status returned to pending, and then on 5/11/11 went to “January 0001" ” (sic) and then on 5/12/11 the status went to “month of August 2011.” Still there.
     
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  16. Jack Posted: 6/2/2011 11:09pm PDT

    @Jim
    I too, was initially concerned about the charge port location being on the front of the car. However, it makes more since now that I've had to charge it a few times (completed first week of ownership). Most chargers on the road when you park your car will be either directly in front of a parking space, or sitting between 2 spots. If the charge port is on the driver's side, it forces you to have to run the cord around the car. The front position makes charging more convenient.
     
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  17. Stanton Posted: 6/3/2011 5:44am PDT

    Not so sure this is an accurate statement: "Since the controversial online ordering system was replaced with the more conventional dealer-based ordering system".
    I ordered my Leaf in May (I live in Texas) via the same online dashboard-based system that Nissan debuted in 2010. So far, my experience has been exemplary: you have to remember that the negative experiences tend to be louder than the positive ones on a message board like this.
     
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  18. David Noland Posted: 6/3/2011 8:14am PDT

    I live in New York state, just north of NYC. I put my deposit down in April 2010, within a few days of the opening bell, and have heard virtually nothing since. No opportunity to actually order, no delivery date, no word from a dealer, no nothing. A few months ago, you quoted Nissan execs promising that all of the initial deposit-holders would get their cars by September. Now we hear by the end of 2011. But the LEAF info line says "sometime next year."
    What a fiasco. The Focus Electric is looking better every day.
     
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  19. Tom Posted: 6/3/2011 10:57am PDT

    Why don't you people try buying American? Do you care about our economy?
     
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  20. JKD Posted: 6/7/2011 11:07am PDT

    "...only 55 percent of those reservations, or 11,000 customers went forward to confirm an order."
    I'm surprised you're even writing this kind of garbage... I thought you knew better since this could have only been an estimate. And last time Nisaan actually said anything it was more like 4 out of 10 who registered actually ordered, so it'd translate into 8K units (per Nissan) in 2011. I think you even made a reference to this fact yourself, Nikki, so I (you) just don't know what you're talking about since more than half of the 20K haven't even been contacted by Nissan yet...
     
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