Nissan Leaf

Nissan announced a major vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial project with Enel, a multinational power company, in the UK. The automaker has been exploring V2G systems almost as long as the Nissan LEAF program existed and its latest project is the first of its kind in the UK and one of the company’s biggest to date.

Nissan and Enel will install and connect 100 V2G units (see picture above) for Nissan LEAF and e-NV200 owners.
Expand
Expanding
Close

There’s no denying that the Model 3 is already having an important impact on the auto industry even 18 months before it is set to enter production. The staggering number of reservations it received is sending a clear message to the industry that there’s demand for a compelling long-range electric car in the mid-luxury market.

Apparently, Nissan thinks that the LEAF fits the bill. Don’t get me wrong, the LEAF is an interesting car, but it is also the same price as the Model 3, clearly not a mid-luxury vehicle and the current version shouldn’t be considered “long-range”.

Nonetheless, Nissan just launched a new national ad campaign with a clear goal to try to convince some of the close to 400,000 Model 3 reservation holders to buy LEAFs instead.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Tesla has mostly welcomed electric vehicle competition since it contributes to its mission to accelerate the advent of electric transport, though it didn’t stop CEO Elon Musk to literally laugh at competition on occasions. Nissan is another automaker with a strong commitment to EVs and it has a similar approach to competition in the market.

CEO Carlos Ghosn commented on Tesla having received an impressive number of Model 3 reservations since unveiling the all-electric $35,000 sedan last week and he referred to the vehicle as “good competition.”.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Nissan released today its January sales report for the U.S. and revealed that LEAF sales are down 29.4% versus the same period last year. Until late in 2015, the company had the excuse of the upcoming 2016 models, which were affecting sales negatively as potential buyers were waiting for the upgrade, but the new cars arrived at dealerships and December was still a very disappointing month for Nissan’s all-electric vehicle.
Expand
Expanding
Close

On a recent electric road trip to upstate New York, I realized that, with the cold weather, my snow tires and a car full of kids who like to be warm, I would need over 30 more miles of electricity than my batteries could hold to make it home. Hitting one of Tesla’s speedy Superchargers would require me to veer across the Hudson River twice and add over a half hour to my trip.

Along the fastest route, according to the helpful Plugshare App, there were a few Level 2 charging stations. I can get 30 miles per hour of charge from my default Tesla cable so I figured that I could get most of the extra miles I needed while we stopped for lunch. There was also a highly rated Level 2 charger within a mile of our destination we could use as a backup (it is good to have backups!). I figured we were all set…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Nissan released its December and 2015 sales reports for the U.S. and LEAF sales are down 42.8% in 2015 versus 2014. Until December, the company had the excuse of the upcoming 2016 models, which were affecting sales negatively, but the new cars arrived at dealerships last month and December was still a very disappointing month for Nissan’s all-electric vehicle.
Expand
Expanding
Close

BMW and Nissan jointly announced today an important partnership to deploy DC fast charging stations at 120 locations across 19 states. The locations are equipped with Greenlots-networked charging stations, which include both CHAdeMO and CCS (Combo) connectors, suitable for all DC Fast charging-capable electric vehicles in the U.S.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Nissan announced a partnership with Enel, Europe’s second largest power company for installed capacity, to develop a new “Vehicle-to-Grid” initiative to use, store and return to the grid electricity in excess from Nissan’s electric vehicles.

The initiative appears to be a revival of Nissan’s “LEAF to Home” program, which appears to have been abandoned years ago. Although the new program seems to be more focused on providing a service to the grid rather than backup power, which was the focus of “LEAF to Home”.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Nissan announced that it will unveil the “Fuel Station of the Future” in partnership with Foster + Partners, a British architecture and design firm. Interestingly, Nissan features the all-electric LEAF in a short preview video for the station.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Sky News staged a race between Nissan’s battery-powered LEAF and Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell ix35 SUV. The race started at Sky’s studios in London and the finish line was in Paris for the COP21 Conference. Spoiler alert: the ix35 won.

The 270-mile journey was well within the 369-mile range of the ix35, but with the LEAF’s 84-mile range, it needed to stop to charge its 24 kWh battery pack.
Expand
Expanding
Close

The Renault-Nissan Alliance announced it will provide a fleet of 200 electric vehicles for the 2015 Paris climate conference (COP21), which runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11. The fleet will include the companies’ flagship electric vehicles Renault ZOE, Nissan LEAF and Nissan e-NV200.

The companies said that 200 Renault and Nissan employee volunteers will drive the cars alongside professional drivers.
Expand
Expanding
Close

The Netherlands is an excellent market for electric cars, it’s not quite Norway, but when adding plug-in hybrids it’s getting close. As for all-electric vehicles, Tesla’s Model S is by far the best-selling in the country based on registration data.

Tesla confirmed last week that it delivered 11,580 vehicles worldwide from July through September and based on registration data, the Netherlands contributed to ~3.5% of the total with 409 Model S’s during the third quarter.
Expand
Expanding
Close

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=105&v=Oji9NIqIqac

I have to say, as an EV enthusiast, these new ads from Chevy leave an incredibly bad taste in my mouth. Yes, the Prius’s NiCad batteries are older technology –and frankly as a Prius Plug-in owner there are plenty of vectors for attack on its battery system – but the Prius STILL gets better mileage than the Volt once the battery is used up, and the Volt’s battery ain’t that big. If I were making the Volt ad and I felt the need to attach the Prius, I’d point out that it is almost impossible to drive electric only with it where the Volt only uses gas on long trips.

Chevrolet’s global chief marketing officer, Tim Mahoney, said those ads have been extremely effective in helping improve Chevrolet’s brand image. Mahoney said Chevrolet’s “shattering perceptions” ads have bumped consumers’ favorable opinion of the brand by 3 percent.

The Leaf ad traps the focus group between floors in dead elevators, leaving them stranded there to emphasize the frustration of being stuck, a major concern for drivers of battery powered cars such as the Leaf. The Prius attack ads points out the car’s engineering is yester-tech.

The Internet ads will be cut down and broadcast on TV, Mahoney said. Volt ads will stress three things: The car’s 53-mile all-electric range, its technology and a combined gasoline and electric driving range of more than 400 miles. Most drivers, Mahoney said, will go between 1,000 and 1,500 miles between tanks of gasoline.

“We’re going to go head-to-head with Leaf and Prius,” Mahoney said. “The ads allow Chevrolet to talk in one way and they allow Chevrolet’s personality to come through. We’re going to be taking more risks,” he said.

In the below commercial, Chevy compares the Leaf’s 80 miles (guess they didn’t hear about the 100+ mile version that will be available in many places before the 2016 Volt) to the Volt’s 400+ with gas. I get it – but why not play up the bits about being electric?
Expand
Expanding
Close

Nissan announced today a new partnership with Fastned to offer 2 years of free fast-charging when buying a new LEAF in the Netherlands. Fastned has an extensive 38-station network of fast charging stations all around the Netherlands, which hadn’t been really put to the test until now. The company says it is building a new station every week.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Los Angeles kicked off the National Drive Electric Week with a big surprise for everyone: a Chevy Bolt prototype and a Nissan LEAF 2016 in display. Green Car Reports managed to get a few pictures of the event.
Expand
Expanding
Close