It has been interesting to watch the development of sales for both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt. The Volt has been ridiculed by the conservative media due to the incorrect assertion that the bailout of GM by the Obama administration brought about its creation. Nissan, not embroiled in the national politics of the U.S., fared better in the media, or at least was not targeted as relentlessly. I’m not sure why the Leaf was not targeted as much, since the U.S. Department of Energy invested $1.4 billion dollars in Nissan to promote building Leafs in Tennessee.
Today, Automotive News is reporting that “Al Castignetti, Nissan vice president for sales, said sales momentum began slowing in February when Nissan started supplying Leafs to dealers in all 50 states, regardless of whether their local markets had adequate EV charging infrastructure.”
In my opinion, and I have stated this before, no one is waiting for charging infrastructure, at least not public charging infrastructure. There is more going on here. Admittedly, pure EVs, with no gasoline backup need a place to charge, but according to StatisticBrain.com, 78% of drivers in the U.S. have a commute of forty miles or less (round trip). These numbers were based on the National Household Travel Survey, from the US Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. According to the Nissan Leaf website, the worst range shown by the “range calculator” is 62 miles in 14 degree temperature, in stop-and-go traffic.
Here’s Nissan’s own range breakdown:
- Range: 62 miles, Speed: 15 MPH, Temperature: 14 degrees, Climate control: On
- Range: 68 miles, Speed: 49 MPH, Temperature: 110 degrees, Climate control: On
- Range: 73 miles, Speed: unspecified, Temperature: unspecified, Climate control: unspecified
- Range: 100 miles, Speed: 19.59 MPH (average), Temperature: 68-86 degrees, Climate control: off
- Range: 105 miles, Speed: 24 MPH, Temperature: 72 degrees, Climate control: Off
- Range: 138 miles, Speed: 38 MPH, Temperature: 68 degrees, Climate control: Off
That means, for 78% of us, the Leaf would easily handle our commute with us only having to charge at home. No need for charging infrastructure, unless we are living in an apartment. Now, that’s a big qualifier, so let’s understand that a bit better. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2000 census data shows that 60.3% of the homes in the U.S. are detached, single family dwellings. If we assume that commute distances are distributed evenly among housing types, that’s 47% of us that should be able to charge at home and have a 40 mile round-trip commute. (and yes, I know what is said about assumptions.) However, that leads me to believe that the Leaf would be a suitable vehicle for about half of us commuters, if the range numbers were correct.
I test drove the Leaf and loved it. I was looking at option packages, financing, etc when my wife started finding horror stories about Leafs getting hit hard by heat in Arizona, California and Texas. This is what I really think Mr. Castignetti was alluding to, in his “50 states” comment. If Nissan had hand-picked states with moderate climates for the Leaf rollout perhaps they would have done better. The other hit Nissan suffered was their reaction to the complaints about reduced battery range. Many customers have taken to the Internet to voice their frustration and fear that the company is not taking their complaints seriously.
As you probably know, I leased a Chevy Volt and liked it so much Bonnie leased one as well. These stories and complaints were the deciding factor for us. Although I absolutely hate when my Volt resorts to running the gasoline motor to generate electricity, I am grateful that, regardless of weather conditions, my range is over 300 miles. In fact, I have taken two trips recently that would have been impossible without public charging infrastructure. But, the biggest factor was probably what I heard GM did when a Volt caught fire weeks after an accident. GM decided to add additional shielding around the battery, implementing this on all Volts manufactured after January 2012. They also retrofitted existing Volts in the field. Beyond this, they offered to buy back any Volt if the owner had concerns. That is my definition of standing behind your product. The result was about two dozen customers asked about the buy back program. In fact, about 50 members of the Chevy Volt Owners group on Facebook posted a letter expressing confidence in the car.
To me, the more important thing about how these two companies addressed potential problems and how their customers feel about it, is the potential damage to electric vehicle acceptance in the U.S. It’s not bad enough that certain members of the media have disparaged electric vehicles in general and the Volt specifically, but if the manufacturers do not go above and beyond what they would on handling issues in a traditionally powered vehicle, they could potentially kill the market for electric vehicles before it gets off the ground. This is also true of the buying experience. Consumers are uncertain about this technology and will rely on salespeople at the dealerships to help them understand the new technology. Unfortunately, both at Nissan and Chevy dealerships, I found salespeople woefully uneducated about the Leaf and Volt. Fortunately, I eventually found one competent salesperson each, at one Nissan and one Chevy dealership. This is unacceptable. Dealers: Get your act together! If your staff cannot get enthusiastic about electric vehicles, choose one (or hire one) that will make it their mission to learn as much as possible about this new type of vehicle and to spread the word! Support local owner’s groups. They are a rich, underused resource for your dealerships. Nothing sells like a satisfied customer!
