Before Tesla would come onto the automotive scene and shake up the EV world, Nissan had been selling EVs first in the form of the affordable Nissan Leaf. The first generation Leaf began production in 2010 and was produced until 2017. This was the first series production EV, opening a new chapter for Nissan. It was comparable to the affordable economy vehicles of the time and with an MSRP of $25,000, people had access to this new technology at a very affordable price.
The Leaf did well and Nissan would continue with a second generation in 2018 which has been in production to date. The Nissan Leaf is already approaching the seven-year mark, and we’re expecting a new vehicle quite soon. However, recently released sales reports by Nissan show that there’s still a huge demand for this EV, and it needs to replace this aging EV as soon as possible.
The Nissan Leaf Saw A Significant Rise In Sales
While most automakers see a significant drop in vehicle sales when getting close to the end of its life cycle, the Nissan Lef saw quite a huge jump in sales compared to the previous year. The Nissan Leaf sold 4,514 units in Q3 of 2024, this may not seem like a huge number till you consider that it only sold 1,570 units at the same time last year. This represents a 2.8x increase over last year’s sales or a 187.5 percent increase in sales over the previous year’s quarter.
It is rare for such vehicles to see this much interest considering the battery technology, range, and aging interior infotainment system. It also doesn’t qualify for a lot of the government tax credits awarded to EVs, although the 2024 model does qualify but only up to $3,750. This means people are willing to pay full price for an EV as long as it’s good enough and affordable.
Why This May Be A Big Deal
This is a clear sign that Nissan needs to make a third generation of this affordable EV as soon as possible. This is a big deal because Nissan has the newer Ariya EV which is a compact crossover. In today’s world, the Ariya should be a sales success but it sold just over 1,000 units more than the Leaf despite being the latest EV with the new battery technology and being eligible for tax incentives which lowers its MSRP of $39,590 to around $32,000 if eligible for the full incentive.
But that still doesn’t touch the Leaf’s MSRP at $28,140 with the ’24 model also being eligible for some savings. This makes the Leaf quite an attractive buy and we may keep seeing steady sales of this vehicle until it is discontinued or hopefully replaced.
The Nissan Leaf is considered a pretty good EV by most standards, it is only dulled by Nissan’s recent lack of an exciting vehicle lineup which tends to stick around for a very long time before a replacement comes along. But this surge in sales should give Nissan the push they need to replace the Leaf with a new one and still make it affordable.
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