Report: Plug-In Cars Will Be 2.4% Of Global Market In 2023

Worldwide plug-in car sales represent just a a small slice of the global car market, which built nearly 83 million vehicles in 2013 alone. but a report from Navigant Research suggests that by 2023, plug-in cars could be as much as 2.4% of the light duty vehicle market.

It is estimated that about 600,000 battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars are on the road today, which looks puny compared to the vehicle market at large. Right now plug-in vehicles make up about 0.1% of the market, so to reach 2.4% of the global market you’re talking about growth on an exponential scale in less than a decade’s time. “The EV market is in a state of flux,” says Scott Shepard, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Plug-in EV markets are expanding rapidly, and are set to grow much more quickly as several major automakers are slated to introduce vehicles in the high-volume SUV segment.”

One of the driving factors behind this rapid growth is China, which is sinking billions of dollars intogrowing its network of charging stations and tax benefits to compel people to buy plug-in vehicles.The market for plug-in cars is also hot in Europe, and American consumers are getting on the bandwagon as well. By 2020, China and a conglomeration of U.S. states hope to put 3 million plug-in vehicles on the roads between them.

We are fast-approaching the day where plug-in cars are no longer considered a niche market, but a mainstream segment of the auto industry.

Source: Gas2

Nissan Unveils LEAF Truck (Images + Video)

 The future of electric trucking has arrived in the form of this Nissan LEAF pickup:

“If necessity is the mother of invention, engineers fuel that fire at Nissan’s Technical Center in Stanfield, Arizona. Here engineers are plentiful. They love to build things, test things and tinker with things. This team thinks a lot about “why not?” Recently they created a one-of-a-kind electric vehicle to haul supplies and people around on the tech center property. This is Sparky as he’s known around the campus. It is a Nissan LEAF crossed with a Nissan Frontier, brought to life by Nissan’s Roland Schellenberg and Arnold Moulinet.”

Now it’s time to convince Nissan to put this electric truck into production.

Nissan LEAF Truck

Nissan LEAF Truck

LEAF Truck

LEAF Truck

LEAF Truck

LEAF Truck

LEAF Truck

LEAF Truck

Press release below:

Nissan engineers marry a LEAF to a Frontier for use around the shop

STANFIELD, Ariz. – If necessity is the mother of invention, engineers fuel that fire at Nissan’s Technical Center in Stanfield, Arizona. Here engineers are plentiful. They love to build things, test things and tinker with things. This team thinks a lot about “why not?” Recently they created a one-of-a-kind electric vehicle to haul supplies and people around on the tech center property.

“We tried to keep it a secret and be exciting for everybody. But we have visitors and they come and they see that truck and they go straight to ‘what is it?’ and they start looking at it, and it makes great conversation,” said Roland Schellenberg, Nissan Durability & Reliability.

This is Sparky, as he’s known around the campus. It is a Nissan LEAF crossed with a Nissan Frontier, brought to life by Nissan’s Roland Schellenberg and Arnold Moulinet. Sparky is a one-of-a-kind creation with a specific mission in life. He supports operations at Nissan’s proving grounds located on 3,050 acres in Stanfield, Arizona.

“I needed a project for a team building activity so we can bring the team together. We had a need for a truck. Something to drive around, a shop truck,” said Schellenberg.

It was months in the making, and there were many considerations, but Arnold Moulinet, Schellenberg’s colleague in the Durability & Reliability group, had the right tool-set to fabricate the vehicle into reality.

“After he (Schellenberg) told us it was going to be the LEAF that we would redo, I went home and stayed up till like four in the morning making all kinds of designs for what would work. We basically got the stock LEAF, and after reviewing a bunch of designs of pickup trucks that we have here at Nissan, we decided to go with a Frontier bed. My main job here is working on rough-road vehicles, rough-road testing. I’m pretty good at taking cars completely apart to the bare frame and putting them back together again to resume testing,” said Moulinet.

The low-desert terrain at Nissan’s technical center provides an ideal environment to test vehicles for hot weather, heat durability, engine cooling and air conditioner performance. There is also a 5.7-mile high-speed oval and four individual road courses designed to test vehicle durability, reliability and ride comfort. Sparky now is part of the support team to help operations run smoothly.

“Being a slick truck, and not so tough, I see it as a boy – but a boy with a heart. It’s something that we all put together. We all share. So it has a little bit of everybody in there,” said Schellenberg.

Chevy Volt Tops Nissan LEAF In Safety Tests

In the latest round of IIHS safety tests, the Chevy Volt earned top scores, while the Nissan LEAF was one of the worst performers on the new safety tests. The tale of two plug-in cars continues…

The IIHS praised the Volt’s safety and named it the safest of the dozen small cars they put through the paces. Only half of those cars earned and “Acceptable” rating in the 40 MPH small overlap front crash test, and only the MINI Cooper Countryman earned a “Good” rating. The Volt took top honors, however, thanks to its collision warning system, which the MINI and most of the other competitors lacked.

Meanwhile the Mazda5, Kia Forte, Nissan Versa and Nissan LEAF (which is based on the Versa) were singled out as the worst performers in the battery of safety tests. The IIHS was especially critical of the LEAF;
“The instrument panel, parking brake pedal and steering column were all pushed back toward the driver. Injuries to the left knee and left lower leg would be likely in a crash of this severity, and injuries to the left thigh would be possible.” The LEAF, along with the Mazda5, Forte, and Versa, were all rated “Poor”, with the Mazda5 also receiving a less-than-acceptable rating in the side-impact test.

Don’t take their word for it though; watch the cringe-worthy crash test video below, and then compare that to the Volt’s crash test. Which car would you rather be in?

Source: Gas 2.

Bhutan Hatches Ambitious Plan To Convert All Cars To EVs

Situated on the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayan mountains, the Kingdom of Bhutan has fewer people than the state of Rhode Island and even fewer cars on its poorly-paved roads. But after several visits between Bhutan officials and executives for Nissan and Mitsubishi, an ambitious plan to replace all of Bhutan’s cars with EVs has been hatched, reports Autoblog Green.

Initially, a meeting between Bhutan’s Prime Minister and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, with the two discussing the possibility of bringing 2,000 electric vehicles to the capital of Thimphu. From there the plans only grew, with Prime Minister Tobgay recent visit to Japan. While there, he asked executives at Nissan and Mitsubishi to help him replace every car on the capital’s roads with EVs.

Furthermore, these EVs would be powered by green, sustainable hydropower, which Bhutan operates 100% on. It actually produces so much excess power that 95% of it is exported to neighboring India. Bhutan had been trading this excess energy for petrol to power vehicles, but now that energy could be directed right back to residents’ homes. Could Bhutan be the first nation to go 100% electric?

Norway might have something to say about that.

Siurce: Gas 2.

Nissan LEAF Replacement Battery Priced At $5,499

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

Why Are Used Nissan Leaf Prices Falling So Rapidly?

Kicking Tires recently reported that the Nissan Leaf is depreciating faster on a percentage basis than any other car in America…and that might just be a good thing. Why?

• Last month, the Nissan Leaf outsold every other electric car manufacturer. That means lots of people are buying an electric car, which is good news for America.
• Presumably, lots of existing Leaf owners decided to get out of their current car and get into a new model with all the latest technical features, longer range and shorter charging times, also good news for America.
• Since the BMW i3 has just gone on sale, some of the used Leafs hitting the market must come from people trading up to the i3. That’s more proof that the electric car market is expanding. More good news.
• Added incentives on unsold new cars at the end of the current model year make buying new more attractive than buying used, which is even more good news for America.

If the market for EVs are expanding, then why are prices tumbling? There are a couple of factors at work here.

• Federal and state incentives can knock $7500 – $10,000 off the price of a new electric. There are no such incentives for used cars.
• Dealers and manufacturers are offering heavily subsidized lease payments to move cars off their lots, while used cars don’t enjoy such heavy promotion
• Electric car technology is changing at a furious pace. Today’s batteries go further, last longer and take less time to recharge than just a few years ago when the Leaf debuted. People always want the latest and greatest stuff and are willing to pay for it. But they are less inclined to come up with good money for technology that is out of date or obsolete.

With all this good news, is there any bad news? I think there is.

According to the report, the average used Nissan Leaf lost 4.2% of its value in May. That’s $819 that flew out of the owner’s wallet while he or she wasn’t looking. Most people just look at their monthly payment and figure that’s what their car is costing them, but in fact the true cost of any car has to include sales tax, insurance, maintenance, repairs, fuel and of course depreciation. In addition, any down payment has to be apportioned for the number of months the car is owned. Put all that together and you could argue that a typical owner is spending about $1300 each month to drive a Leaf.

There is good news for people looking to buy a used Leaf, though not so good news for many current owners.  But with the cost of the cars tumbling, buyers who want an electric car can get one at a steep discount to the original sticker price.

All that depreciation means more electric cars in total will be on the roads, and that truly is good news for America.

Source: Kicking Tires

Nissan Leaf Taxi Service Opens In London

Of all the major cities in the world, London has the most iconic taxis -black diesel powered Austins with enough room in the back seat for a small circus troupe. London also has chronic smog problems that are not helped in the slightest by all those diesel taxis driving around the city 24 hours a day.

Now, according to the Christian Science Monitor, a private company is making a fleet of Nissan Leaf electric vehicles available for hire to private customers in London as an alternative to those traditional taxis. eConnect Cars is based in Canary Wharf in the heart of the London business district. They’ll offer the Leaf to customers who want to travel about the city in a zero emissions vehicle, while avoiding the $35.00 a day “congestion charge” imposed on private vehicles coming into London during regular business hours.

New Yorkers would say the eConnect Cars model is like one of the “car services”common in Manhattan. Instead of standing in the rain hoping to flag down a taxi, the customer calls eConnect, which sends a Leaf and a driver to a specific location at an agreed time, all stress free and civilized. Customers have a choice of a top of the line, leather trimmed model or a more plebeian car without the luxury trappings, equivalent to the Leaf S sold in the US.

The mayor of London has decreed that all cars for hire, whether public taxis or private cars, be zero emissions vehicles by 2018. That means the diesel powered Austin taxis will be a thing of the past in just a few short years, unpless plans to replace it with a plug-in hybrid version come to fruition. More likely, vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 will become the taxi of the future. Just ask New York.

Optimists say that meeting the challenges posed by climate change will create new business opportunities. The success of eConnect Cars suggests that the optimists may have a valid point.

Cadillac Dealers Advertise $19,500 Off ELR’s MSRP

The “newness” of the Chevy Volt seems to have worn off, and though sales have been steady, the Nissan Leaf has been surpassing it for the past few months. The $76,000 Cadillac ELR is doing even worse, which is leading some dealers to offer huge incentives to move stock…not a great sign for Chevy’s plug-in ambitions.

We found two examples, both over at the GM-Volt.com boards, that seem to indicate increasing incentives on both the Volt and the ELR. These aren’t in out-there, dyed-in-the-red states either. Rydell Chevrolet in Northridge, California, is offering up to $6,000 off all in-stock Chevy Volts, which probably includes a mix of 2013 and 2014 models. That includes a $1,000 GM rebate, $500 “Chevy Conquest Private Offer”, and $4,500 from Rydell itself. Factor in the $7,500 tax credit, and you’ve got a whopping $13,500 off of the $34,185 MSRP, , bringing the Volt’s price down to just $20,695. Oh, and California also kicks in another $5,000, meaning you can get a Volt for just $15,695 … which is less than I paid for my Chevy Sonic.

Meanwhile Tropical Cadillac of Bradenton, Florida, reportedly sent out this email;

We just got $12,000 off incentives on the purchase of a new Cadillac ELR. Plus you get a $7500 tax credit! If you have not seen or driven this amazing vehicle, you need to come in and test drive one. This is the New electric vehicle from Cadillac, and it not only will save you a bundle at the gas pump, but it looks and drives amazing, Stop in today for a test drive.

$12,000 cash on the hood, plus another $7,500 from the Feds (in the form of rebates) means $19,500 off the ridiculous $76,000 asking price, which brings it down to a much more manageable $56,500. That’s like, exactly where the Cadillac ELR should have been priced to begin with. Not sure if it was greed or just misreading the market, but these incentives may indicate trouble brewing for GM’s pair of plug-in hybrids.

Source: Gas 2.

A Day In The Life Of A Two Nissan LEAF Family

Charging Both LEAFs

Pushing the range of our Nissan LEAFs into the EV Badlands is one of my most beloved of passions. However, I do have a family. A family with two all-electric Nissan LEAFs. A day in the life of our household is more about cross-town errands than cross-country epics. With over 50,000 of combined miles on our two LEAFs in less than two years, it really is the daily grind, not the occasional EVenture, that our cars do the heavy lifting. This is what it is like to be an all-EV family on a typical Saturday. Yes, the logistics are different than when we had our ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles… *Editor’s Note: This post appears of Steve’s blog.  Check it out by clicking here.

MORNING PLANNING

Perhaps the most important thing that we did to make life manageable with two EVs was to install a second EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment–aka “charger”) in our garage. On weekends, it is especially useful to charge both LEAFs simultaneously to 100% if the day is looking to be a busy one.

YOUR CAR, MY CAR

My wife has her car, the black 2013 LEAF. Mine is the white 2012 LEAF. Yes, she gets the nicer of the two (leather, shiny wheels, yadda yadda yadda), but we end up swapping cars quite often. The reason for the spousal exchange is that the 2013 LEAF has a 6.6kWh onboard charger, while the 2012 only charges at about 3.6kW per hour. Therefore, if there is any anticipated Level 2 (240v) charging needed during the day, the 2013 LEAF will be driven on that trip.

To the YMCA for Swimming Lessons

Looking ahead to the afternoon, I had an upcoming 90-mile trip and would be Level 2 charging at the halfway point. Those logistics meant that I needed to first take our kids to the Y in my 2012 LEAF and my wife would take her 2013 LEAF the short distance to a Relay For Life event in late morning hours.

Car Swap Time

After swimming lessons, the kids and I swapped LEAFs for our afternoon trip to go have some fun. We picked up my stepfather in the black 2013 LEAF and drove about 45 miles to one of his job sites so he could take the little dudes for some joyriding in a 40,000 pound CAT front loader.

The Anti-EV: Burns Six Gallons of Fuel Every Hour and Operates at 106db!

BE PREPARED

Aside from having ample charging available home, it is critically important for us to be able to charge our EVs from various power supplies when EVSE infrastructure is not available. We have a portable EVSE that is capable of charging up to 240v and 20 amps. This equates to a 4.8kW charge. While it doesn’t max out the Level 2 charging capability of our 2013 LEAF, it is still good for about 19 miles of added driving range for every hour of charging.

Guerilla EV Charging!

THE PLEASURE & PAIN

Our typical Saturday of errands and activities had us traveling a combined 135 miles between our two Nissan LEAFs. Clearly there is a bit of “pain” in relying on two sub-100 mile range EVs to completely fulfill transportation duties. For us, though, the pleasures of EV ownership far outweigh the logistical challenges. The financial savings are remarkable. The 135-mile travel day would have cost $20.25 if we had a medium-sized ICE family sedan. Instead, we paid south of $4.00 for electricity (actually, less than that because 4kWh were charged for free). The gas vs. electricity comparison of costs is even better when probing a bit deeper to the realities of the two “fuels.” Gasoline prices fluctuate. The cost of electricity is stable. Being the typical family that we are, having stability in our monthly budget is very important in getting through each month. Driving electric vehicles takes out one of those budgetary items that always seemed to hammer us with a budget-busting rise in gas prices at the worst of times. While the fuel savings is our immediate gratification for driving Nissan LEAFs, another “pleasure” that I have come to realize with driving our EVs is actually more of a long-term investment. Our children, ages six and three, are growing up with “energy usage, energy efficiency, and energy costs” as a part of their lexicon. That is truly what the world needs: a whole generation that has an understanding of the global impact of personal energy usage.

Electric Smart, Renault Twingo Facing Weak Demand

Despite the incredible adoption rate of all-electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, makers of smaller EVs like the Smart Electric Drive and recently-updated Mitsubishi iMiEV are facing weak demand – which has led some people within Renault-Nissan to rethink the company’s strategy in re: an electric Renault Twingo.

“We’re not in a situation where the market has followed our forecasts,” Chief Performance Officer for Renault, Jerome Stoll said in an interview with Automotive News. “People haven’t yet reached the point where they feel the need to have an electric vehicle for full daily use. People need to feel that need to shift to electric models.”

That’s bad news for a company that wants to put more than 1.5 million EVs on the world’s roads by 2020. It’s also bad news forMercedes’ Smart brand and Mitsubishi, who are both planning to field their own versions of the recently-revealed Renault Twingo / upcoming Nissan Micra model.

Still, it’s not all bad news. Renault delivered more than 19,000 electric cars last year, on top of Nissan’s own strong Leaf sales, out of a total of 2.6 million Renault-branded cars and light commercial vehicles. The company, then, is still on track for its 2020 goal, even without the electric subcompacts. As for Smart and Mitsubishi, it looks like their dealers are giving them a different story, since they seem committed to developing their EVs.

We’ll have more on the next iMiEV and Smart Electric Drive models, of course, as the news develops. Stay tuned!

Source | Photos: Renault, via Automotive News, Europe.

Next Nissan Leaf To Get More Range, “Mainstream” Styling

In a bid to broaden the appeal of the Nissan Leaf, the next-generation model will boast a longer ranger and a more mainstream look. Though it may have been first out of the gate with a mass market EV, Nissan has taken its lumps and lessons and applied them to the next model. Will these changes help make the Leaf a breakout hit?

If you’ll recall, Nissan executives aren’t exactly thrilled with the underwhelming response to the Leaf, even though it remains far-and-away the best-selling EV in the world. One of the problems is the Leaf’s relatively short range, with Nissan will likely remedy by offering different battery pack sizes, like the Tesla Model S. A recent survey all but confirms Nissan’s intent to offer more multiple battery sizes, perhaps all the way up to 150 miles of driving per charge. Following the new Leaf will be the long-delayed Infiniti EV, sometime around 2017 with a more premium feel.

That’s definitely the right move. But as for adopting a more mainstream look? I’m not sure. As it stands, the Leaf strikes the right balance between looking different and blending in, and you can tell pretty far out that it’s an electric vehicle. I like that, and I think a lot of owners do too. Buyers have the option of “mainstream” electric vehicles like the Ford Focus Electric, but they aren’t biting. There’s a reason for that, and it isn’t just Ford’s lack of marketing. People want to be seen in an electric car, same way they want to be seen in a Prius or any other hybrid.

The Nissan Leaf’s looks aren’t out there by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s still different enough to be noticed. I hope Nissan keeps it that way.

Source: Automotive News

Taking A Short Ride In The BMW i3

I got the chance to take a ride in the BMW i3 at this past Wednesday’s New York International Auto Show. The EV Pavilion wasn’t much more than a temporary go kart track, with a few Nissan Leafs and BMW i3s. Unfortunately for riders, more coveted vehicles like the Tesla or i8 were not available for ride-a-longs.

When I arrived at the EV Pavilion, the Nissan reps had already left and the BMW guys were finishing up, but agreed to go around one more time. As the previous passengers finished up their run, I had a look over the i3 to get a feel for what I was in for. Clearly the first thing that sticks out is the two-tone paint covering the vehicle’s exterior.

Once the boldness of the burnt orange and black combination soaked in, I noticed the wood panels that flow across the dash board. At first I was unimpressed, but thinking back to all the cracked dashboards I’ve had over the years; it might not be as of a bad decision as I thought.

When the driver pulled up he waved me over and I got in. The passenger seat seemed comfortable and adequate for my six-foot frame. The driver introduced himself, explained some of the benefits of the electric drivetrain, and took off. He gave it some “gas” as we entered the straightaway, mentioning the 0-60 time of 7 seconds.

As we neared the next turn, he demonstrated how the i3’s braking system automatically slowed the vehicle when the driver’s foot comes off the pedal. As he took a few more laps, I asked about how the vehicle handles at higher speeds when letting off of the accelerator. He claimed that during his highway trips in California, the car would gradually slow down, eliminating the ability to coast.

As I exited the vehicle I gave it one last look over and closed the door, releasing that the smoker’s windows in the front doors, like the back windows, do not open. Overall, it’s an interesting option for those in the market for a fuel efficient hatchback, but it’s a bit too progressive for me. The wood dash and burnt orange are a bit much in my opinion, but other color combinations will be available upon release.

The ability to coast may be a missed option when you get an itch on your right leg, but cruise control would offer relief from touching the pedal at all. Beyond these aesthetic distastes and non-coasting nuisance, the BMW i3 is a comfortable, well thought-out electric car that adds one more choice in the world of eco-friendly rides.

Source: Gas 2.

SIM-HAL Is A Sporty Electric Car With Tons Of Torque

The SIM-HAL electric car may share a name with 2001’s AI bad guy, but the only thing villainous about SIM-Drive’s latest EV is the insane torque it makes. With a combined 1,829 ft-lbs of torque sent to the streets and a design straight out of the pages of science-fiction, the SIM-HAL could be a look at how electric cars of the future are built.

I say that because the SIM-HAL uses four electric motors, one on each wheel, to deliver power and control to the drive. The HAL in SIM-HAL stands for “High-efficiency All-wheel Link”, which combines the four 87-horsepower electric motors into a single functional unit, sending power where it is needed, when it is needed. Each motor also delivers over 460 ft-lbs of peak torque, and combined output for the system is about 349 horsepower and the aforementioned 1,829 ft-lbs of torque.

That translates to a 4.7 second 0 to 60 MPH sprint, though top speed is limited to just 111 MPH. But the real story here isn’t acceleration or top speed, but rath efficiency. Using a 35.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, SIM-Drive claims the HAL can go as far as 251 miles per charge. This is, however, on the generous Japanese testing cycle, which rates the Nissan Leaf’s 24 kWh battery pack at 141 miles per charge. While Nissan is almost certainly going to offer a larger battery pack to customers at a high price, SIM-Drive has instead pursued efficiency, and the results are paying off.

To me, sticking an electric motor on each wheel makes the most sense, delivering variable all-wheel drive system without the need for power-sucking transmissions or driveshafts. The SIM-HAL gets this much right, though it still looks like a comic supervillain’s getaway car. At least it’s an improvement over previous SIM-EV designs…

Source: SIM-Drive | Autoblog Green

Nissan LEAF Sales For March 2014 Continue To Soar, 2nd Best Month All Time

Nissan LEAF Sales Across The Country (and yes, including New Jersey) Continue to Be Strong

Heading into March Nissan had bested year-over-year result a record 12 months in a row.  However, many of those ‘beats’ were due to some really spotty inventory levels in early 2013 and/or a much more expensive/Japanese-made version of the car.

Nonetheless, you can make that 13 months in a row that LEAF sales have improved as the company edged some very tough comparables from March of 2013, while recording their 2nd best month to date.

March is the first month where a real ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison can be made as the 2014 US-made LEAF from $28,980 was up against its former self (2013 MY) from $28,800.

For March 2,507 LEAFs were sold, which was a 12% improvement over the 2013 LEAF’s debut last year when 2,236 were sold.

“LEAF is continuing to see strong performance as our buyers become evangelists for the vehicle,” said Toby Perry, Nissan’s director of EV Sales and Marketing.  “We’ve also seen an increase in showroom traffic as we enhanced our marketing presence in March.”

With Another Strong Month The Nissan LEAF Retains Its Title As “Best Selling Plug-In” In America For 2014

March’s result is also the company’s 2nd best showing of all-time, surpassed only slightly by December’s 2,529 LEAFs sold.

Overall for the year, 5,184 LEAFs have been sold, a 46.5%improvement of 2013 when 3,539 were moved.

Even though new production levels are online, national inventory levels fell slightly in March as Nissan followed though on Toby Perry’s (Director of EV Sales and Marketing at Nissan) prediction of  “adjusting our mix to match popular models to the right markets.”

Nissan also had a note to us about the strengthen of some specific markets in the US.

“The top 10 traditionally well performing markets remain strong and consistent with players like Washington D.C., Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, and Boston coming on strong. Texas also is showing growth especially in Austin, Houston and Dallas-Ft. Worth. “

Source: Inside EV's