Replacement batteries for the Nissan LEAF electric vehicles are now available through authorized Nissan dealers. The price is $5,499, including a credit of $1,000 for the return of the old battery, and trading in the old battery is a requirement of purchase.
The new batteries are the same as those used in the 2015 LEAF and incorporate everything Nissan has learned since it first brought the LEAF to market 4 years ago. It also comes with a new warranty of 8 years/100,000 miles. Known as the “lizard battery”, it takes advantage of internal changes that make it more tolerant of high temperatures. Some customers living in hot climates have complained that their batteries have degraded rapidly and Nissan has taken steps to address those concerns
While Nissan is supposedly working on a 150-mile range version of the LEAF, these batteries are rated for 84 miles per charge. Owners of 2010-2012 model year cars will be required to purchase an adapter kit to retrofit the new batteries to their cars, and there is also an installation charge set by the dealer for the exchange. The process requires about 3 hours to complete.
Now that Nissan has established a price for the replacement batteries, it is possible to calculate the cost per kilowatt hour, which works out to be $270/kWh. That number is considerably lower per kWh cost when the LEAF was introduced in 2010, so greater volume is in fact driving down the cost as anticipated.
The company is finalizing the details of a financing program to make the purchase of new batteries affordable for owners, and Nssan expects the monthly cost under that program to be about $100 per month.
Source: Nissan
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