Barack Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015, and whether he succeeds depends in part on whether cars such as the Leaf, or the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt from General Motors, are priced low enough to be quickly embraced by consumers. During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. The Leaf is "the first affordable, zero-emission vehicle for the mass market," said Brian Carolin, a senior vice president for Nissan North America. The cars will become available in December on the West Coast and next year in the rest of the country.
The Leaf will sell for $32,780, with consumers paying $25,280 after a $7,500 federal tax credit is included. roads for years, their production cost has kept manufacturers from making them for a mainstream audience, and the relative affordability of the Leaf surprised some industry observers. Although a small number of electric cars have been traveling U.S. The Nissan Leaf, the first of several pure-electric vehicles being developed by major manufacturers, will be roughly comparable in price with conventional autos, the company announced Tuesday, posing what may be the first mass-market test of consumer interest in battery-powered cars.
Federal efforts
Congress and the Obama administration have committed billions to nurturing the development of a mass-market electric car, citing the goal of reducing pollution and the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
More immediately, the federal government is offering the $7,500 tax credit to defray the cost of the new technology for consumers. Lawmakers had estimated that an electric car would cost $10,000 to $15,000 more than its conventional equivalent.
Whether electric cars will appeal to drivers remains an open question. "There appears to be a small premium" for the Leaf even after the federal tax credit, said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the automotive Web site Edmunds.com. But he noted that in California, where the state offers an additional $5,000 tax credit, the Leaf may be less expensive.
Pluses and minuses
The practical aspects of battery-powered cars also pose advantages and disadvantages. The Leaf can go 100 miles on a single charge, far less than the range of a conventional gasoline-powered car. The economics of electric charging are similarly complicated. Drivers intending daily use of the Leaf are encouraged to buy a home docking station that allows the car to be recharged more quickly -- in about eight hours from empty. Moreover, the cost of powering the Leaf is roughly one-sixth that of gassing up a conventional car, according to Nissan, based on $3 a gallon for gas and 11 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity.
Skeptics, moreover, note that hybrid cars, though they were introduced to the United States more than 10 years ago, still represent less than 3 percent of the cars and light trucks sold each year.
Enthusiasts and some environmentalists, however, say that the Leaf will tap into a vast, pent-up demand for electric cars, especially among those seeking to pollute less.
Nissan is planning to produce relatively small volumes for the United States at first. Even before the price announcement Tuesday, the company said it had received expressions of interest from 81,000 people.
"Today, most of those people are driving hybrids," said Mark Perry, director of product planning and advanced technology at Nissan North America.
The Leaf will sell for $32,780, with consumers paying $25,280 after a $7,500 federal tax credit is included. roads for years, their production cost has kept manufacturers from making them for a mainstream audience, and the relative affordability of the Leaf surprised some industry observers. Although a small number of electric cars have been traveling U.S. The Nissan Leaf, the first of several pure-electric vehicles being developed by major manufacturers, will be roughly comparable in price with conventional autos, the company announced Tuesday, posing what may be the first mass-market test of consumer interest in battery-powered cars.
Federal efforts
Congress and the Obama administration have committed billions to nurturing the development of a mass-market electric car, citing the goal of reducing pollution and the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
More immediately, the federal government is offering the $7,500 tax credit to defray the cost of the new technology for consumers. Lawmakers had estimated that an electric car would cost $10,000 to $15,000 more than its conventional equivalent.
Whether electric cars will appeal to drivers remains an open question. "There appears to be a small premium" for the Leaf even after the federal tax credit, said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the automotive Web site Edmunds.com. But he noted that in California, where the state offers an additional $5,000 tax credit, the Leaf may be less expensive.
Pluses and minuses
The practical aspects of battery-powered cars also pose advantages and disadvantages. The Leaf can go 100 miles on a single charge, far less than the range of a conventional gasoline-powered car. The economics of electric charging are similarly complicated. Drivers intending daily use of the Leaf are encouraged to buy a home docking station that allows the car to be recharged more quickly -- in about eight hours from empty. Moreover, the cost of powering the Leaf is roughly one-sixth that of gassing up a conventional car, according to Nissan, based on $3 a gallon for gas and 11 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity.
Skeptics, moreover, note that hybrid cars, though they were introduced to the United States more than 10 years ago, still represent less than 3 percent of the cars and light trucks sold each year.
Enthusiasts and some environmentalists, however, say that the Leaf will tap into a vast, pent-up demand for electric cars, especially among those seeking to pollute less.
Nissan is planning to produce relatively small volumes for the United States at first. Even before the price announcement Tuesday, the company said it had received expressions of interest from 81,000 people.
"Today, most of those people are driving hybrids," said Mark Perry, director of product planning and advanced technology at Nissan North America.
Based From www.washingtonpost.com
