The
Leaf is Nissan's first all electric vehicle and the first allotment
that will come to America is already sold out. Nissan has announced
that it will be bringing three
more electric vehicles to the U.S. over the next four years
in addition to the Leaf.
The three new EVs will include an
Infiniti model that is smaller than the Leaf, a small commercial van,
and a small urban car.
Leaf
deliveries in the U.S. will begin next month reports The
Detroit News.
Nissan's Carlos Tavares said that 90% of the buyers of the Leaf are
new to the Nissan brand and the majority of the buyers of the first
vehicles are wealthy and have a second car. Most of the buyers of the
Leaf are in western states according to Tavares.
Tavares
said, "You can see the Nissan Leaf is a huge conquest vehicle
for the brand."
He also stated that Nissan is more
bullish on the future of EVs in the U.S. than JD Power and Associates
was in its recent
report about the EV market in America. That report pegged
the EV market in the U.S. at 100,000 per year by 2020. Nissan reckons
that by 2020 EVs will make up 6.5% of the U.S. car market for about
780,000 vehicles by 2020. That is huge increase over what JD Power
and Associates expects.
Nissan is expecting the EV market in
the U.S. to grow at a slower rate than in outer markets like Asia and
Europe. The reason many expect that growth difference is that driving
distances are longer in the U.S. typically and U.S. drivers often
fear being stranded with no battery power.
Leaf
Production kicked
off in Japan last month.
