Nissan To Lower JDM Leaf Prices By $3,150
Nissan EVP Takao Katagiri answering questions
Two days after Nissan announced dropping U.S. Leaf prices at the Detroit Motor Show, Leafs dropped in price also at home. At a press conference in Yokohama, dapper Nissan EVP Takao Katagiri announced that Leaf prices in Japan would be reduced by 280,000 yen ($3,150).
Nissan EVP Takao Katagiri lowering prices
After Japanese government incentives of 780,000 yen ($8,830), prices of the lowest grade model can be as low as $25,000. As in the U.S., incentives by local communities can drop the prices even further. The JDM prices include tax, the U.S. prices don’t. The new prices go in effect on April 1, 2013. On the same day, the Japanese government incentives expire. Nissan hopes that they return at a similar level.
Leaf New JDM PricesGradeListAfter IncentiveLeaf S$33,855$25,016Leaf X$38,470$29,632Leaf G$42,718$33,879Includes TaxUnusual: Customer who will buy a Leaf before the new pricing goes in effect, even those who bought a Leaf after the refresh in November will receive a coupon that makes up for the difference. The coupon can be used to buy parts or services at your trusted JDM Nissan dealer.
Leaf New U.S. PricesTrimMSRPAfter IncentiveLEAF S$28,800$21,300LEAF SV$31,820$24,320LEAF SL$34,840$27,340So far, Nissan has sold around 50,000 of the all-electric Leaf worldwide. Katagiri maintained the intrepid target of 1.5 million Leaf sold worldwide through fiscal 2016. That’s alliance-wide, including Renault and eventually Venucia. In November, Nissan sold 1,312 Leafs in Japan, in December it was 870. Leaf sales in the U.S. rose 1.5 percent last year to 9,819. Nissan’s target was 20,000.
Answering the question by CJinSD and gslippy, Nissan Spokesman Chris Keeffe says that the Leafs for the North American market will be made in Tennessee. Those for the Japanese market continue to be made at home in Oppama.
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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Are the Japanese market Leaves made in the US? That could explain the larger price reduction, since buying dollar goods with yen is more fun these days than vice versa.
Anyone seriously planning to buy an electric car, obviously has the financial means to maintain it and likely has a house or luxury condo to charge it - and would probably be more interested in owning a Tesla Model S or Fisker Karma. The LEAF is a FAILURE compared even to the Chevy Volt, so why would I ever want one? Even if they dropped the price to $5000, I seriously would just save my money for something better.