Nissan announces Leaf EV pricing

Nissan’s Leaf electric car will be priced from £23,350 (including government incentives) when it arrives in the UK in February 2011.

The company claims spec-for-spec the Leaf’s pricing is equivalent to a Toyota Prius or Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion, and the £23,350 paid by the customer includes the cost of the battery.

This removes a potential obstacle over used values forecasts, as CAP had warned it would not predict residual values for electric vehicles where the battery was leased separately from the purchase of the car.

The UK has been allocated just 2,000 Leaf models during the first year of sale, and Nissan expects all to be taken up.

Electric vehicles are not subject to vehicle excise duty and have been given a five-year benefit-in-kind-tax holiday.

The Leaf will travel up to 100 miles on a single charge from being plugged in for eight hours.

Nissan says the Leaf would work out about £500 a year cheaper in charging costs compared with fuelling a traditional car.

The UK is one of four European countries in the first phase of the car’s launch, and customers will be able to formally register their interest in the car from July with a fully refundable deposit.

Referring to the subsidised purchase price, Simon Thomas, senior vice-president for sales and marketing at Nissan Europe, said it shows there is “no price premium for EVs”.

“The Renault-Nissan Alliance is investing over four billion Euros to lead the auto industry in electric vehicles, with eight products across three brands,” said Thomas.

“This investment includes five battery plants and seven confirmed assembly plants, including Sunderland in the UK. This reflects the strong commitment the alliance has made to electric vehicles and our determination to lead the market.”