Mexican Media Brands
Nissan “Disappointed” by U.S. Demand for Leaf EV
Nissan Motor Co. is disappointed that sales of its Leaf electric car are falling short of the company's goal of selling 20,000 units in America this year.
#hybrid
Share
Nissan Motor Co. is disappointed that sales of its Leaf electric car are falling short of the company's goal of selling 20,000 units in America this year. So says Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, whose duties include global product planning and marketing communications.
CEO Carlos Ghosn predicted in January that the Leaf would double last year's U.S. volume to reach 20,000 units in the 2012 calendar year. But in the first nine months of this year, demand for the EV has plunged 28% year over year to 5,200 units.
Palmer tells reporters Nissan hasn't yet abandoned its goal but now expects to double sales in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. But he adds that hitting the target is "pretty irrelevant" in the long-term scheme of EV sales growth.
Palmer acknowledges that the company has been "pretty lousy" at communicating with Leaf customers. One mistake he cites: Not impressing on new owners that performance would vary depending on climate and driving conditions.
A group of Leaf owners in Arizona have griped that the car's range is diminished in hot weather. Last month Nissan announced the creation of a global advisory board to improve EV communications.
RELATED CONTENT
-
The U.S. Military Finds New Roads: Fuel Cell Powered Pickups
While it seems that fuel efficiency as related to the U.S. federal government is all about light duty vehicles, that’s far from being the case.
-
Chevy Develops eCOPO Camaro: The Fast and the Electric
The notion that electric vehicles were the sort of thing that well-meaning professors who wear tweed jackets with elbow patches drove in order to help save the environment was pretty much annihilated when Tesla added the Ludicrous+ mode to the Model S which propelled the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds.
-
48-volt Hits Production
“In 2025, approximately one in five new vehicles across the world will be equipped with a 48-volt drive,” Juergen Wiesenberger, head of Hybrid Electric Vehicles at Continental North America said last week.