Uh-ho, Nissan. You’ve come out with one of the best five-seat all-electric production cars we’ve ever seen and your pre-order figures are impressive. But as your rival Chevrolet is eagerly rolling out 2011 Range-Extended Volts we’re starting to hear more and more stories that your own rollout isn’t as rosy as we’d hoped.
So what’s going on? And is the apparent trickle of 2011 Nissan LEAFs reaches customers are consumers going to get bored and shop elsewhere?
Anything As Long As it Plugs In
First 2011 Nissan Leaf delivered to buyer, San Francisco, Dec 2010, photo by Eugene Lee
Remember the days when Aptera was planning to be the first all-electric car to launch since the death of the EV1? As it turned out, many of those who had staked a deposit in Aptera’s all-electric 2e had also put deposits down on a Tesla, a ZAP and perhaps some other car long since forgotten about.
And so it is with the 2011 Nissan LEAF. Hedging their bets, we’ve heard of customers who have deposits down on multiple vehicles. First car to their driveway wins.
Infrastructure Excuses?
We’ve heard that some customers in delayed markets such as MD, VA, DC and FL have been getting a whole load of excuses from their local dealers as to the reason for the delay.
One such email cited a lack of charging infrastructure - a common excuse now finding itself in email inboxes in delayed market areas.
This is hardly coherent with Nissan’s original sales pitch that a range of 100 miles was more than adequate for a daily drive use for most consumers.
There may be some truth there though. In Europe, Nissan has consciously rolled out the 2011 LEAF to countries known for their support of the electric car before it goes on sale elsewhere.
Selling in a supported marketplace also means less instances of range anxiety and less running-out-of-charge. Not that we think most users would purposely run out of charge anyway - but still.
First 2011 Nissan Leaf delivered to buyer, San Francisco, Dec 2010, photo by Eugene Lee
A Victim Of Its Own Success
Infrastructure excuses aside, we think there’s a bigger problem. Nissan just can’t make the number of cars it need to satisfy the worldwide demand.
Let’s be honest - at the moment Nissan is producing all its cars in one factory. Until the NIssan LEAF production facilities open in Smyrna, TN and Sunderland, U.K., we predict a slow and painful march to owners’ hands.
Late 2011 For Some
A lot can change in twelve months. That’s the time Nissan says certain markets will be fulfilled, with confirmed orders not occurring until August 2011 at the earliest.
Well some early adopters grow tired of the wait and will some consumers worried the federal and state incentives will run out before their car arrives switch to a competitor?
Could Alternatives Exist?
First 2011 Chevrolet Volt delivered to retail buyer Jeffrey Kaffee, in Denville, NJ, December 2010
Right now, few alternatives exist, but the story could easily change in the next few months. Nissan is currently gambling its success on a car it seems to be struggling to fulfil orders for. We have no doubt it will eventually be the rip-roaring success the original 2004 Toyota Prius was but at a cost.
Some owners will grow tired of the wait and find another solution to their desire to drive electric.
