Nissan Announces Leaf Battery Pack Pricing

[oil pan 4]

If that tesla giga factory significantly reduced battery prices that would be great.
But what if all they do is eliminate competition and set the price as they see fit?

In the U.S. you have to have full coverage with a car payment to protect the buyer and the financier. That way when the car gets wrecked the buyer isnt stuck with a car payment with no car or the lender doesn't get defaulted on.
If financing a new battery is considered a car payment then going to full coverage at least doubles your insurance.

[Xist]

I wonder if insurance companies would provide coverage for new batteries on old cars--just the batteries.

[mechman600]

Big Picture. Include the price of the car and compare apples to apples.
I would expect the battery pack to last 120K miles, so 8 years @ 15K miles/year. Here is a comparison between a Leaf S and Versa Note S+ (with the CVT option....remember apples to apples). I assume a 10% sales tax and $3.75/gal fuel.


Hmmmm....if we are talking appliances (a cheap means to get something done), then the EV is still WAAAAAAAY off. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't buy a Leaf.

Edit: To be fair I did not include the EV tax credit either. Up here, we do not have an EV tax credit anymore anyway. Also, up here gas is around $5.50/gal, which brings the numbers slightly closer....but still way off.

[mechman600]

Hey, let's throw another wrench in the equation and go used. Used Leafs with appox 25K miles can be had for around $15K in the Seattle area (3 hours south of me). Now, since 25K miles is 21% of the theoretical useable battery pack life, we can prorate this and throw it in as well:


Now we're talking. Of course, a used Versa Note will be much cheaper, but this merely shows that an EV can be done at a reasonable price. As I want to eventually get away from gasoline with my wife's next car, this would be the route I would choose. I also have plans for a DIY range extender for my long trips made out of a 600-650cc CVT motorcycle/scooter, but that's for a completely different thread!

[NeilBlanchard]

Different situations - oil is a limited supply that gets harder and harder to get over time, and batteries are built.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

If that tesla giga factory significantly reduced battery prices that would be great.
But what if all they do is eliminate competition and set the price as they see fit?

Historically, prices are still driven down when companies consolidate. Oligopolies do not get to set the price arbitrarily high. The market still sets their price.

Originally Posted by Xist

I wonder if insurance companies would provide coverage for new batteries on old cars--just the batteries.

I doubt car insurance would be required on the finance plan. Nissan would have the battery pack as collateral if the debt was defaulted on. Not only that, but Nissan's cost for the battery pack is likely much less than the consumer is paying, so their liability on a default is further reduced.

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Different situations - oil is a limited supply that gets harder and harder to get over time, and batteries are built.

Duh!...bring back the German WWII synthetic oil production capabilites!

[NeilBlanchard]

And that'll be cheap and easy, right?

[user removed]

One synthetic oil manufacturer is advertizing they make theirs from natural gas, but how much would the power grid need to improve to cover 100+ million electric cars.

regards
Mech

[Cobb]

Once you got the range and charging situation worked out the Leaf is a much nicer vehicle than the Versa. You can chirp tires at any speed, its got a nav/dvd player and one hell of a first gear.

I think we had a similar discussion on the insight forum many years ago and it made cents to go with a used leaf vs new.