Several car companies are working on electric car offerings, but it looks like Nissan will be the first to market with a mass-production, affordable model. To get the word out about the company’s new Leaf electric car, Nissan is taking the car around the country in what’s billed as the Zero Emission Tour. The tour made a stop at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., the other day, and I went over to check out the new car.
There were plenty of Microsoft employees stopping by to ask questions about the Leaf, and most wanted to know how fast, how far and how much. So here’s what the Nissan reps told us: The Leaf will reach 60 mph in about nine seconds, it can travel about 100 miles on a charge and it will be “affordable.” The actual price will be released closer to the on-sale date, but they expect it to be around the price of a Prius (which runs from about $22,000 to $27,670).
The Leaf looks like a typical small hatchback with usable cargo space and plenty of room in the rear seat for two adults. At the front of the Leaf is a small access panel that reveals two power inlets: one for the standard 110/220 that would commonly be used at home for overnight charging, the other designed for use at a commercial charging station where a 3-phase direct-current power source could charge the batteries to 80 percent in just 26 minutes. A 220 outlet would fully charge the Leaf in six to eight hours, perfect for an overnight charge.
So how much cheaper is an electric car to run versus a hybrid or other fuel-efficient car? Here’s the equation: The Leaf’s batteries store 24 kilowatt hours, which is equivalent to 100 miles. According to the Energy Department, the average cost of a kilowatt hour is 12 cents. That calculates to $2.88 for 100 miles – about the cost of a gallon of gasoline. The most fuel-efficient car on the market today, the Toyota Prius, goes half the distance for the same cost.
When Leaf goes on sale in December 2010, it will be built in Japan. However, within 18 months of introduction, Nissan expects to be building the Leaf in a new factory in Smyrna, Tenn. This will make it possible to increase production as well as lower the costs.
Check to see when the tour is coming to a place near you: http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/tour.jsp#/tour
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