Automotive History in the making?
By verisimilitude at 2010-04-19
he four-door Nissan Leaf will go on sale later this year at a cost of about $20,000 after a federal tax credit and state rebate, a price low enough that auto industry analysts say it will attract consumers who have never considered driving electric vehicles before.
Interest in the Leaf is so high that Nissan will begin accepting reservations Tuesday. While it will be the first affordable all-electric car to hit the market, several other models are expected to roll out within the next two years.
Electric vehicles are powered by batteries instead of internal combustion engines. There are no tailpipe emissions, and the cost of the electricity to charge them is much cheaper than a tank of gasoline.
"By the end of the year there will be thousands of these cars in Americans' hands, and once people have them, it's game over," said Paul Scott of the advocacy group Plug In America. "The Leaf's low price means the adoption rate of this technology is going to be dramatically faster than we had ever hoped."
Some automakers rolled out limited editions of electric vehicles in the 1990s, only to scrap the models a few years later, in part because of a shortage of public charging stations.
But many feel the electric car's time has arrived. Charging stations are being built, consumer interest has grown, the technology has advanced and Nissan is putting marketing oomph behind the Leaf's rollout. The vehicle's national tour included a stop at San Jose's Santana Row in December, and slick television ads featuring the car ran throughout the Winter Olympics.
Kirsten Flynn of Palo Alto drives a 1991 Volvo station wagon and is determined to make her next car an electric one. She has three teenagers and is thrilled the Leaf seats five.
"For a long time, electric vehicles have been like vaporware," said Flynn, an interior designer. "But this is like a normal car that I can fit my family in. It's hard to believe it's actually happening."
Alex Tang, who plans to reserve a Leaf Tuesday, said he's motivated partly by guilt.
"Every time I drive a gasoline-powered car I feel guilty about the environmental impact," said Tang, 38. "I want the Leaf to succeed. During the Olympics I was like 'Wow! An actual advertisement for an EV on television!' "
Tang, a software engineer, says there's a lot of "FUD" — fear, uncertainty and doubt — about EVs. A top concern is "range anxiety" because electric vehicles can travel a limited number of miles before needing to be recharged. The Leaf has a range of 100 miles.
"There's this idea that you are going to get stranded in the desert, but you as a consumer just need to deal with the boundaries," Tang said.
Many analysts say the limitations of electric vehicles mean the Leaf will largely appeal to two-car households who will use the electric car for short commutes and errands around town.
"We as a society embrace cars because they have the ability to go from here to anywhere at a moment's notice," said Ed Kim of the consulting firm AutoPacific. "Limited range, and needing several hours to charge a vehicle, is not going to work for a lot of people."
The Leaf is just the first of several all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles about to come on the market. Others include the Fisker Karma, the Aptera 2e, the Coda sedan, Chevy's Volt and Tesla's Model S. The only all-electric "highway-capable" vehicle available today is the $109,000 Tesla Roadster.
The Leaf's suggested retail price of $32,780 drops to $25,280 after a $7,500 federal income tax credit. California offers a $5,000 rebate through the state Air Resources Board, which reduces the price to $20,280.
More than 112,000 people have registered on Nissan's website to receive updates about the Leaf. Tuesday, they will receive a secure e-mail with a link to make a reservation, for a $99 refundable fee. The reservation ensures consumers a place in line when the Japanese automaker begins taking firm orders in August.
Initially, the Leaf will be sold in California and four other states: Arizona, Tennessee, Oregon and Washington. The five states are part of the Department of Energy-funded EV Project, which hopes to glean how electric vehicles perform in different climates.
"Instead of going to the gas station, you go home every night and you charge your car," said Trisha Jung, director of electric vehicle marketing for Nissan North America. "It's like charging your cell phone."
The main problem why the Big Car Companies hate electric car is they hate to sell a small car that brings in small profit.
Just like no PC maker wants to sell quality laptop at sub QR1,500 price. ITs not that they cant do it...they just dont want to do it.
Another thing is that with Electric - there is only the engine and the battery no gears no clutch.
Gear Transmissions were their forte this they will miss with Electric. All the BMWs, Audis, etc come down to the same level as the small time manufacturer like say TATA.
Tata even has planned to make it as a build-it-as-you-like car. Just like a PC technician assembles a PC...guys will be assembling cars in their back yard.
This is why I keep repeating Auto Revolution is just begun in India.
Reva goes to 120kmph? I've been in a Reva in Bangalore and it was painfully slow. I think an Auto-Rickshaw could accelerate faster. Maybe there are newer models that have come out in the past 4-5 years. And you can't really compare it to a 2 door sports car. It's so ugly and my legs were so cramped up. It's worse than sitting in economy class flight.
The leaf is definitely an improvement over the Reva, and I don't think it will have the same battery replacement problems either.
deepb...lol...nobody complains about the 2 door sports cars...lol
Also the 4 door Reva is coming soon :)
deepb ...speed is a "no-issue" here....although the new reva does 120kmph...nobody would buy an electric car to drive fast.
Or to put it in another way....there is a certain slight speed loss but a lot of monetary gain.
Another issue is the Battery has to be replaced within 3 yrs which would cost half as much as the car!!!!
I have seen a Reva in action ...it almost ran over me....and I never thought it was slow. Its speed was ok...its was then as good as the Fiat (Yellow Mumbai) Taxi it was riding along.
It would have been a good car for me here in Doha. As I travel 50Kms daily. And then connect it in the evening to let it charge overnight.
But the bad thing is it would only be good for guys with a Villa as a charging point will be needed to charge it
The best thing about electric cars are there would be no vibration.
Tata is comming out with Electric Delivery Trucks (Ace Elecrtic) which would be a Very Very Very hit....as most of the delivery is done within the local area ie city limits.
What is important to note here is that Daiamler & Renault both left their Indian Partner - Mahindra & Tata respectively!!! While GMC has tied up with REVA.... I wonder how long this also will last just like Diamler & Renault's short stint.
The Reva is a two seater and does not reach the same speed as the leaf, jack. It has a lower distance range as well. The leaf is very viable commercially as it's very comparable to some of the non-electric counterparts.
jack, you are only considering the initial cost. What about the price of petrol versus electricity ? Maybe not so much of a difference here, but outside the middle east, the car will end up paying for itself.
Also it is not History-in-the-making ...there is already REVA being built in Rizks' home town.... Bangalore, India
...which has been exporting electric cars to UK regularly.
...and the cost of REVA is just QR 31,000.
you are just looking at acquisition costs... you are not considering the running cost... fuel cost, maintenance costs etc...
The thing costs more than the 2009 Outlander!!!
$20,000 * 3.65 = QR73,000
If it has the disadvantage of the long charge time it should have the advantage of at least half the price of a normal 4 door car.
This will come true in the Nano Electric which is expected in Year 2011.
The Leaf & the Volt are good. But :
1. would YOU buy it here in the GCC? NO
2. Would YOU buy it back home? ...umm...aa..uumm ..maybe Yes ...may be No!
But what if was priced around QR40,000? You definitely would buy it...Right?
Khattak has spelled it out right...its the Gas & Oil industry who doesnt want such a thing to succeed.
If it wasnt for the Nano which has pushed all the car companies to their drawing board and the huge recession in the Western & European Car markets....these electric vehicles would not have been for sale.
There was a Toyota RAV that was sold 3-5 yrs back with an Electric version which was ok if one takes into account the cell technology that was 5 yrs ago and combining it with large scale production would have made it very successfull.
Yep, It's certainly not viable for highway driving. Like the article said, only the 109,000$ Tesla roadster is suitable for highway driving. As technology advances, the price should become more affordable, hopefully.
the recharge times are why I am going to label electric cars only as a second car option... 160km is fine for town driving but if we were driving down to Dubai for instance... 650km... that would mean half hour stop every two hours drive... and five of those stops... two and a half hours of stop over time...
But if I have two cars and I use my regular car for these long drives and stick to the leaf for my more frequent in town rides, that makes much more sense...
But in a place like Qatar where distances are so short, the leaf could comfortably meet most requirements...
According to previous press releases there is a quick charge option where 80% of battery is charged in less than half an hour veri. I'm sure as technology improves, they can either come up with a spare battery or faster recharge times. 100 miles would serve my driving purposes for most days.
its not just a matter of having filling stations every 100 miles, it takes 3.5 hours to 'charge up' these babies...
Actually 'affordable' is not the right criteria, my bad...
you are right, it was probably already affordable
but it was more expensive than the regular cars...
that was the issue....
just to illustrate my point, the last fully electric car I had heard of from Tesla came with a 100000$ price tag
I don't know about you guys, but that kills the environmentalist in me...
When it becomes popular, the recharge stations will be available all over the place, just like petrol stations and that 100 mile limitation would also not be that bad. Plus, 100 miles is more than enough for city driving.
I believe it was always working & affordable. The only problem was the Oil & Gas Cartel's interests.
in the 90's it was not affordable
but this is a practical car
its fully electrical
and it could work out cheaper than a petrol car
more people would find it feasible...
its no longer a car for the environmentally aware alone...
Work in the sense that it becomes popular this time unlike the attempts in 90's.
when did it not work?
I would seriously consider it as a second car, although I'd still have a petrol SUV for off-roading and the occasional trips to Ras Laffan... don't want to get bogged down with the 100 miles range...
Let's hope it works this time.