Nissan LEAF News

In a solid sign that Australia is turning its back on emission-free electric cars, Nissan has slashed $17,000 off the price of its Leaf hatch. It chops the hi-tech, all-electric car's price to $29,818 plus GST for government and no-for-profit organisations, and $31,818 for fleet buyers. Private buyers will pay $39,990 drive away or $85 a week making it the cheapest volume electric car on the market following the withdrawal from the market in January of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. It is the second price reduction for Nissan's Leaf since December when the price dropped $10,000 to $46,990. Carsguide finds the price reduction of the car - up to yesterday a $46,990 drive away vehicle - is caused by Nissan trying to push the electric car message but also by the disinterest of motorists in electric vehicles. Nissan has sold only 36 Leafs this year and Australian sales of all-electric vehicles to private buyers totals only 16 to the end of March. This compares with about 3300 sales of the Nissan Pulsar and 124 for the Toyota Prius hybrid. Australia now has three all-electric cars available - the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and Holden Volt, though the latter technically has a supporting petrol engine. The Volt, which costs $60,000, has sold 24 units this year, and the customer order-only $48,800 i-MiEV just three examples.

A month after the NRMA switched on NSW’s first high-speed electric-car charger, one of the two vehicles it was designed for is retreating from the showroom.

The world’s three largest carmakers have all rejected battery-powered cars this week at Europe’s biggest car show of 2012.Volkswagen and Toyota have joined General Motors in a stronger commitment to a new generation of range-extended hybrid cars that promise more than just a plug-in city runabout.GM is in full production with its landmark Volt, with the first Australian deliveries about to begin through Holden dealerships, and now Toyota is pushing harder with its Prius range and VW Group has confirmed a new type of petrol-electric cars across its giant line-up.All three companies are committing to cars that combine some form of pure electric driving with a combustion engine for longer trips, often charging an on-board battery pack to stretch the electric range to as much as 600 kilometres.At the same time, global sales of plug-in electric cars are still tiny and - even though the Nissan Leaf has won awards and drives well - carmakers admit they are losing money on many as they try to convince customers to take a leap into the future.There are even rumours that BMW, which is readying a completely new division for electric cars, is slowing the project until there is greater acceptance. “Many competitors are currently reducing their plans for electric vehicles,” says Martin Winterkorn, chairman of Volkswagen Group.“We at Volkswagen do not have to do that because, from the word go, we have always looked realistically at this technology transition.” “We thought about pure electrical cars, but at the end of the day I think they fulfil only the urban things.If you go by autobahn or in the countryside I think a pure electrical car is not in the near future,” confirms Dr Horst Glaser, one of the senior development engineers at Audi, part of the VW Group. There are many challenges for successful electric cars, from the charging systems to costly lithium-ion battery packs.But the hurdles are with customer acceptance, as every major brand talks about the ‘range anxiety’ of cars that cannot be refuelled quickly and shoppers also baulk at the cost and unproven lifespan of automotive battery packs.Toyota says it is reducing its electric commitment, instead accelerating development of plug-in Prius hybrids with better short-term electric range for city use. “The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars can run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge,” says Takeshi Uchiyamada, deputy chairman of Toyota.“There are many difficulties.” Audi is leading the Volkswagen push with a system that combines a tiny three-cylinder combustion engine with a battery pack and two electric motors, a system I drove this week in Germany.It’s an impressive package and will soon go into full-scale production, most likely in an upcoming Audi Q2 SUV before being rolled-out through the VW Group. “We started with the full hybrids because we knew about the limitations of batteries and management technologies. To have a new technology first is not always the right approach,” says Glaser. 

You can understand having a stretch Caddy or Holden Statesman ... long wheelbase, but somebody's looked at it said 'we need it longer' to haul around hens' parties. Even a stretched Hummer made some sort of mad sense, once they realised 'we need something military-grade tough to haul around hens' parties'. But starting with a considerably smaller Nissan Leaf EV would seem like taking a shot from well behind the eight ball. That hasn't deterred an American hotel -- and by now you've guessed this had to be American. Embassy Suites in Nashville, Tennessee, has installed the electric limo as their passenger shuttle vehicle. With average trips being less than 10km, the Leaf will never risk over-running its claimed 170km range. The stretching added around 200kg to the Leaf's weight, and the battery pack has been shifted further back for balance, but there were no other major mechanical modifications. However the interior has been given the mandatory limo makeover, with leather upholstery, cedar panelling and mirrors. We suppose someobody had to do it.

But Nissan wants you to open your wallet this wide for the privilege of  appearing "green'' and driving the new electric-only Leaf.There are a few issues you need to keep in mind with such vehicles. First is the fact that unless you have solar generation on your house, you are just shifting the production of carbon dioxide from the exhaust pipe to the power station smoke stack.Second, there's this thing called range anxiety that will niggle in the back of your mind when you have such an arbitrary driving limit because if you forget and go too far, you will need to be towed home.When you get there, you can't simply pour in some petrol or diesel and get going straight away, you will need to put in a second battery pack if you have access to one or put the car on "fast charge'' to get any sort of useable range.You will end up driving with one eye on the battery charge meter - distracting your attention like a mobile phone.However, if you live inner-city and only travel a few kilometres a day (which realistically should be on public transport) the five door Leaf might have some appeal.Leaf is the first mass-produced, purpose built electric car on the Australian market and Nissan plans to introduce more _ dependent on Leaf success or otherwise. It is available now from 13 Leaf accredited Nissan dealerships across Australia.Drive is to the front wheels with batteries housed in the floor for optimum vehicle packaging and weight distribution. It scores a five star crash rating under the Euro NCAP system and has seating for five adults and a good-sized cargo area.Nissan Leaf's 24 kWh lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is comprised of 48 compact modules of four cells each, which allows a high degree of packaging flexibility. The batteries are designed to maximise drive time and minimise charging time. Unlike conventional cylindrical batteries, the thin, compact laminated cells offer more flexibility in design applications.Responsive performance comes from the 80kW (108bhp) electric motor that instantly generates its maximum 280Nm torque equivalent to the torque of a conventional 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine -from a standing start. The Nissan Leaf is easy to drive.The electric power train does not idle and only rotates when the vehicle is moving. To start the engine, the driver need only press the start button, and electricity begins flowing to the motor. Using the electric shift, the driver then selects 'D' range, and the vehicle starts to move.Leaf's regenerative braking system helps replenish its range. By applying the brakes or reducing speed by letting off the accelerator, the electric motor acts as an electric generator, converting energy, that would otherwise be wasted, into battery energy.To increase regenerative braking, there is a driver-controlled Eco mode setting, which can also be used to reduce air conditioning and thus improve driving range when driving in urban areas. Leaf has an "Approaching Vehicle Sound'' for pedestrians. Driving range depends on several factors, including external temperature, air conditioning usage, battery age and driving behaviour. The Leaf onboard navigation system is smart enough to tell you based on destination input and state of charge whether you have the range to make it and if not, search for nearby charging station along the route.In the event that the battery becomes critically low, power limitation mode will automatically minimise energy consumption and reduce speed to help you get to a charging dock. 

The five-seater Nissan Leaf has gone on sale with the promise of 170km range from a full 24kWh battery charge – which means a cost from around 2c per kilometre in fuel compared to 11c/km for a comparable petrol car.The five-seater is priced from $51,500, with a charging station adding from $2800 extra for those who want to cut the juice-up time back to about four hours, rather than the 16 hours needed for a 15amp domestic supply to ‘juice up’ the underfloor battery pack.A cutting edge telematics system connected to a global data centre allows the driver’s smartphone to remotely set charge options, including taking advantage of off-peak rates. However, the Leaf is launching head-on into the carbon tax -- which will raise electricity costs after July 1.“The general view is that carbon tax will lead to electricity prices going up around eight per cent,” says Chris Giaoris of Origin Energy, which is supplying the Leaf charge points.The car also faces an acknowledged resistance to the new technology and concern about plug-in range.“There is some reluctance, not just in Australia, but in every country,” Nissan’s global head of product strategy and advanced planning, Francois Bancon said at the launch in Sydney yesterday (SUBS: Friday).“We are improving the technology, we are targeting better economy and we plan to double the range in another four or five years.“The answer is in the infrastructure, where you can one day drive from one city to another and along the way pull into a station and charge in 10 minutes while you have a cup of coffee.“But the government has to support this approach and in Australia it has not so far.”Nissan doesn’t expect the Leaf to do massive sales, saying it is spearheading a push for the range of models coming behind it.“We’re talking about just hundreds a year,” Nissan spokesman Jeff Fisher said. “At the moment it’s about the whole electric car awareness, so we want to take one step at a time.“This is basically the thin end of the wedge. We’ve always talked about having a suite of electric vehicles: a family hatch, we talked about a two-seater city runabout, a luxury version that could be under the Infiniti brand for example. We talked about a commercial vehicle… all of those are out there.” 

With the Nissan Leaf electric hatchback about to be launched here, sales of second-hand electric cars are showing early indications of low retained values. Brisbane City Council recently sold one of two electric cars at less than a third of its cost price after just two years and about 4000km. The other one failed to sell at auction, but is available at about $16,000 through Manheim auctions.  The Australian-made Blade Electron Mark V cost about $48,000 and is based on the petrol-powered equivalent Getz that last sold in 2011 for $13,990-$16,990. Glass's Guide research analyst Rushad Parkar says retained values for a two-year-old petrol-powered Getz are 84 per cent retail and 52 per cent trade for much higher kilometres travelled. "We at Glass's as of now do not have a policy outlined to determine used values for electric cars,'' he says. "However ... we believe the residual value will follow a path similar to that of the hybrid cars. The market is generally not showing acceptance towards them and the high price across the segment is also a major factor that hampers sales. "Also the lack of available samples ... is a major reason why we have no pricing on these vehicles.'' Brisbane City Council usually keeps vehicles for three years or 60,000km, but disposed of their Victorian-made electric vehicles after only two years and 4000km. Council refused to comment on the use of the electric vehicles but it is believed they will buy two of the new Leaf electric vehicles, costing $51,500. Nissan corporate affairs manager Jeff Fisher says 13 dealers have been selected to sell the Leaf EV, out of their 190 dealers. "Obviously we are looking firstly at city/urban-based dealers rather than country dealers,'' he says. "Since we launched it globally, we have had 3000 showing an initial interest and we are pursuing them to see if they are maintaining an interest as the car gets closer to sale. "Most of those are private buyers. "As with a lot of hi-tech vehicles, our customers will come from early adaptors, socially aware individuals, usually inner city dwellers and most likely as a second car. "Our fleet sales team has also been going around the country exposing decision-makers to the car, so we'll expect some feedback on their level of interest.'' Nissan Australia has joined with Origin Energy to assess a home recharging system. "We are underwriting an assessment of people's homes for recharging points,'' he says. "We've got a little bit more than 100 of those in the pipeline who might be Leaf owners in the future. The car which arrives in June will be available in one trim level. "We see it as a premium model which has everything that is available,'' Fisher says.  

Origin says it will provide eastern states customers access to electricity from sustainable sources, home and office charging equipment, electricity management and advice in its key eastern states markets. The partnership is designed to make public and fleet purchase of electric vehicles easy and cost effective, says Origin spokesman Phil Craig. "We will give options for electric vehicle owners on the type of charging station and where the electricity is sourced,'' he says. "Users can specify 100 per cent of the electricity from sustainable sources, or 50 per cent or 25 per cent. Opting for 25 per cent sustainable electricity only adds about $1 a week to the bill.'' Mr Craig says the agreement will help establish electric vehicles as a viable, convenient and more sustainable alternative to fossil-fuelled vehicles. Origin has four all-electric cars - two Mitsubishi i-MiEVs and two Leafs - and will increase its electric fleet vehicles when the Leaf goes on sale in Australia in June. Mr Craig says the agreement with Nissan was not exclusive and Origin would be open to provide green services with future electric-car makers in Australia. Renault will later this year introduce its all-electric Fluence ZE sedan.  Nissan's outgoing CEO, Dan Thompson, said the Leaf has the potential to change the shape of urban and suburban motoring in Australia. "This agreement with Origin gives us a major strategic competitive advantage,'' he says. "It is this shared awareness of and advocacy for cleaner forms of energy that makes the Nissan and Origin agreement such a fitting and promising one.''  More than 25,000 Nissan Leafs are already on the roads around the world.

It also has the compact Almera, a Diesel Dualis, and the battery-powered Leaf, as well as another sharpening tweak to the GT-R supercar to fold into a richer product mix. Then there are four upscale Infiniti models in a big brand stretch at the top end of the Nissan family. The flood of new models is intended to get Nissan onto many more Australian shopping lists, as the company looks to overtake Hyundai and Mazda to become the country's favourite pure import brand."We will be putting eight new products into the market in the next 12 months. We have four on the Nissan side and four from Infiniti," says Dan Thompson, managing director of Nissan Australia. "There are also the regular updates across the other models like the 370Z. It's all coming together within two years. It's great." Thompson is nearing the end of his time in Australia before taking up a promotion in Europe in April, but is clearly still committed to a product update that's easily the biggest since Nissan closed its local manufacturing operation in Australia. "We've got a lot happening. Leaf is in June, that's the next one to come," Thompson says. "Then Almera, then Patrol, then Pulsar. It's all in the next 12 months. Probably the biggest challenge is probably prioritising things. It's going to be a busy, busy period."Thompson says the return of the Pulsar nameplate - which was dumped byJapanese management in favour of the Tiida - is a big event. "We've got big plans for the Pulsar and there is a lot of good stuff we're going to do, especially with the hatch," he says. Right now, he says Nissan is working towards the end of the Japanese financial year and its target of overtaking Mitsubishi in Australia. "We're also up there again in the top three fastest-growing brands. We're starting to get there. We've had seven percent-plus market share for a while now."But Thompson says it's the new cars that are going to make the biggest difference. "We've got the new GT-R landing this month. And that's a pretty big update for just a running change. "We've got the update to the Z, which is the US cycle. We've got Dualis diesel coming towards the end of the year. And we have some other big stuff. "We've got lots of good little running changes for all the core product. We've got a new Navara product coming this month out of spain. With the capacity constraints in Thailand we moved the ST, our best selling variant, to Spain. We're scrambling to find capacity."

ChargePoint CEO James Brown says they have installed more than 50 public charging stations since their first was installed on May 24, 2010. "Since then we have installed points from Townsville to the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and New Zealand," he says. This comes as the company has become the first in Australia to feature on satnav units, thanks to a collaboration with digital mapping company NAVTEQ. "Integration into the NAVTEQ map means drivers can easily navigate to their nearest electric vehicle charge points with a minimum of effort," he says. The navigation software will also allow motorists to unlock the charging stations ready for the recharge before they pull up at the outlet. "We would see the viability of our business going hand in hand with the introduction of more electric vehicle models this year," he says. "2012 will be a watershed year and profitability will come in a couple of years when the scale of electric cars on the road takes hold. At the moment we are still in that investment period." Brown says the next step is a rollout of stations into regional areas. "It's like an octopus with tentacles lowly spreading," he says. "We would anticipate upwards of 3000 ChargePoint charging stations within three years." ChargePoint has more than 300 users even though the number of manufacturer model EVs is only about 150 because most EVs have several registered users. ChargePoint customers can sign up via the internet or phone for free. The charging stations take about four hours to fully charge a 15amp EV such as the Mitsubishi i-MiEV or the coming Nissan Leaf. Brown says a full charge from flat would cost about $3 and provide more than 100km of range, compared with more than three times that cost for a petrol-powered car. While ChargePoint does not yet have quick-charge stations that can recharge an EV in as little as 20 minutes, Brown says they are "working on getting quick charge stations now".