The all-electric Nissan Leaf may have been on sale in some parts of the U.S. for 14 months -- but for residents in 21 states, today is the day Nissan will email them saying they can start the ordering process for the $35,200 hatchback.
When the 2011 Nissan Leaf launched, Nissan restricted rollout of the Leaf to states known for its support of electric cars. Those states also happened to be known for having temperate winter weather.
Customers in colder states and less electric car friendly states had to wait until the 2012 Nissan Leaf launched before they could order one.
Fitted with battery heaters, heated front and rear seats, as well as a heated steering wheel, the 2012 Nissan Leaf was better suited to the cold, harsh winters of more northern states.
Beating the 2012 Mitsubishi i to nationwide availability by a few months, Nissan is crowning itself the first mainstream automaker to make an electric car available to all 50 states.
2011 Nissan Leaf SL
But it isn’t the first automaker to sell a plug-in car to the entire U.S. That particular accolade goes to Chevrolet, which made the 2012 Volt available to all 50 states at the end of 2011.
Nor is it quite as clear-cut as it might seem.
Firstly, customers in the final 21 states won’t be able to buy a Leaf today. In fact, they’ll have to wait a week before they can even place a reservation and order a Leaf.
And deliveries, according to Nissan -- “will start taking place in these new markets by summer.”
In other words, it is going to be a few more months before everyone, everywhere, can drive a new Leaf off the dealer lot.
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