Nissan backs LEAF EV
More deals on the way as Nissan confirms updated 2013 LEAF for local saleA week after Mitsubishi declared it has no intention to import any more examples of its i-MiEV electric car unless there was demand, Nissan has committed to the local future of its LEAF EV.
The company has even revealed it is on the verge of announcing a significant fleet deal in NSW and says it has others brewing.
“It’s a challenge, but I’d rather be out in front with this new technology than be in midstream or in the rear,” Nissan Australia Managing Director Bill Peffer told motoring.com.au at the Nissan Pulsar sedan launch this week.
“We have 13 LEAF retailers today. We may add a few more, but we will not put one in every dealership,” said Mr Peffer. Nissan has about 190 dealers in Australia.
Mr Peffer did confirm the second iteration of the Leaf would arrive in Australia in 2013. However, he would not say whether Nissan’s strategy in other markets, including Japan and the US, of dropping prices via a lower-specified ‘S’ entry model would be followed here.
“We will bring in a subsequent model year LEAF, at a price we are not prepared to talk about yet,” he said.
The 2013 model year LEAF has gone on an 80kg diet, which has helped eke out an extra 28km of driving range on the Japanese test cycle.
In 2012, just 77 LEAFs were sold here. Nissan Australia is currently in ‘run-out’ with the LEAF, dropping the price by more than $8000 to $46,990 drive-away in December.
“That (deal) has had some resonance in the marketplace,” Mr Peffer said. “We have moved almost 100 to retail customers. We just secured a fairly significant fleet order up in NSW which we will talk about in a week or two and we have a couple more on the make.
“The car serves its place in the line-up. It is one of the platforms for us. It proves the point we are a technology leader and it’s doing that job very well.”
The i-MiEV has been on sale in Australia since 2010 and has managed 250 sales, including 81 wholesaled to dealers by Mitsubishi in December.
Mitsubishi issued a statement emphasising its support of the i-MiEV and electrified vehicles last week.
It will commence sale of the Outlander PHEV – the world’s first plug-in SUV – in Australia mid-year.
Globally, Nissan has also announced a recent expansion of its electrified vehicle strategy, including the addition of 16 hybrids to its line-up by 2016.
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