When Carlos Ghosn said early last month that Nissan Leaf deliveries will pass 1 500 units, he meant just that. Nissan sold 3 875 of its Leaf vehicles in the U.S. between January and June 2011, more than 1 000 units clear of the Chevrolet Volt on 2 745.
Nissan vice president of US sales, Al Castignetti, said the June result was representative of Nissan’s future expectations, with production of the world’s first publically available mass-produced EV starting to pick up pace. “We’ve been telling you we’d grow every month, and now you’re seeing more normalised production flow,” Mr Castignetti said. “We’re starting to catch up with the reservations.”
The US$33 000 Nissan Leaf is considerably less expensive than the US$41 000 Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. With government tax incentives included, the Leaf is priced from US$25 500 while the Volt costs US$33 500. Chevrolet plans to make 16 000 Volts this year and boost production to 60 000 in 2012. Nissan plans to sell 12 000 Leaf vehicles in the U.S. in 2012, and has a target of 200 000 U.S. sales in the future.
As a refresher, power for the Nissan Leaf comes from a 80 kW electric-motor that runs on power supplied by lithium-ion cells. On a full-charge, the Nissan Leaf allows for a driving range of 160 kilometers with a top speed of 150 km/h. A full charge takes up to 8 hours on a standard 200V outlet. Buyers can opt for a ‘quick-charger’, which recharges the battery up to 80 percent in under 30 minutes. In contrast, the Chevrolet Volt is a range-extended plug-in hybrid, which combines a petrol engine, an electric motor and a battery. In most conditions, the petrol engine does not drive the car directly, but works as a generator to recharge the battery. It has an all-electric range of 56 km and a total range of 610 km. Its overall combined cycle fuel consumption is rated at 3.9 L/100km.
Which car do you think would be best suited to South Africa? Which one do you think will sell the best? And would you consider buying either one? Let us your thoughts in the comments section below.
