Nissan Uses Strippers To Sex Up Limp Leaf Sales

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt
Warning: Video NSFW in Sharia jurisdictions and parts of corporate America

Nissan plans a budget Leaf to be sold along the current version, Nissan’s Andy Palmer told the Financial Times. With the stripper model, Nissan hopes to extend the car’s reach beyond early adopters to “pragmatists.” Another problems remains unsolved: The car’s reach.

“The main hesitation in buying the car is from range anxiety,” Palmer told the FT. “Maybe we were over-optimistic with the ramp-up as well.”

Nissan budgeted for 40,000 Leaf’s to be sold in the current fiscal, but sold fewer than 12,000 Leafs in the first half. Range, cost, and charge time are seen as the main reasons standing in the way of mass adoption of EVs.

Cost is already coming down, but not due to scale effects: In addition to generous government subsidies, Nissan offered incentives worth more than $4,200 on the Leaf in September, TrueCar says. Edmunds estimates that GM is putting more than $5,000 on the hood of each Volt, Truecar thinks $8,000 is more like it.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Schmitt trigger Schmitt trigger on Oct 22, 2012

    Does the vehicle come completely "bare" of accessories? Does it have a nice body? I'm sorry, couldn't resist the puns.

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Oct 22, 2012

    Decontenting or reducing the price won't reduce range anxiety. FYI, Nissan's 'discount' to me was a pass-through of the up-to-$7500 Federal tax rebate off the MSRP (for leases only). I don't know if this counts as 'cash on the hood', since Nissan gets to claim the rebate.

  • TireIrony TireIrony on Oct 22, 2012

    Nothing will eliminate range anxiety except the ubiquitous five-minute fillup. The practical matter isn't how many miles you get, but how long it takes to get more and where you have to be to get them. Every electric vehicle owner reading this knows how much range they have left right now. That's a mental tether that conventional vehicles don't require.

    • See 1 previous
    • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Oct 24, 2012

      @Brian Keez Another LEAFer; I thought I was alone here. :)

  • Redav Redav on Oct 22, 2012

    “The main hesitation in buying the car is from range anxiety,” Palmer told the FT. - I disagree. I believe the main hesitation is price. Few people are willing to pay $30k+ for a compact car. The masses will accept the range if they can get it for cheap enough.

    • Ydnas7 Ydnas7 on Oct 23, 2012

      in the US, LEAF leases are $199/month, compared to a Sentra plus fuel, its cheaper to lease a LEAF and pay some electricity. its not price thats stopping people, its anxiety that the range won't be sufficient 'just in case'

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