Photo: Nissan
Nissan is doing great work with its Leaf electric car and it seems most of the people who were brave enough to actually buy one like it a lot. After conducting a study, the Japanese carmaker has released some pretty amazing findings based on the insights of 6,500 EV owners from the UK.
Apparently, after living with the electric car for a while, none of the drivers want to ever go back to conventionally powered automobiles. More than half of the owners say their Leafs outperform normal cars, that they have noticed considerable savings and are using the Leaf as daily drivers.
Nissan's study has found that 89% of people have noticed considerable financial savings over conventionally powered automobiles. What's with the other 11%? Well they probably don't drive very often. One driver calculated that he had spent just £400 traveling more than 22,000 miles in his Leaf.
Nissan Motor GB Limited Managing Director, James Wright, said: “Electric car ownership was a big step for motorists to take when we launched the LEAF in 2011 but we are now seeing that owners who were bold enough to take that step are reaping the benefits."
One man liked it so much that he sold his Aston Martin and bought two Leafs, one for him and one for his wife. He did that because he didn't want to argue with his wife who wold take the Leaf to work the next day. If somebody would have told us that two years ago, we would have never believed him!
A year ago, Nissan moved Leaf production for the European market to the UK. In total, the same Sunderland factory that makes the Juke has put together 24,000 EVs and their batteries. Globally, that number rises to 147,000 sold.
In a few more years, Nissan is rumored to launch a second generation model which is said to have double the battery range. Give it a full decade and this could very well be a normal family car.
Money in your pocket
Nissan says that filling the Leaf battery with electricity costs 2 British pence or less per mile. This is based on overnight electricity costs (British Gas standard tariff unit rates for a customer, assuming seven hours of charging at the night rate and one hour on the day rate, and a range of up to 124 miles per full charge.Nissan's study has found that 89% of people have noticed considerable financial savings over conventionally powered automobiles. What's with the other 11%? Well they probably don't drive very often. One driver calculated that he had spent just £400 traveling more than 22,000 miles in his Leaf.
Nissan Motor GB Limited Managing Director, James Wright, said: “Electric car ownership was a big step for motorists to take when we launched the LEAF in 2011 but we are now seeing that owners who were bold enough to take that step are reaping the benefits."
93% of owners use it as a family car
Many people bought the Leaf as a second car, worried that the lack of range would impede them in everyday life. However, after seeing its benefits, many switched to using the Leaf exclusively. Nissan says that out of the people it polled, over 9 in 10 (93%) us it as their main family car, going to the shops, picking up the kids and so on.One man liked it so much that he sold his Aston Martin and bought two Leafs, one for him and one for his wife. He did that because he didn't want to argue with his wife who wold take the Leaf to work the next day. If somebody would have told us that two years ago, we would have never believed him!
A year ago, Nissan moved Leaf production for the European market to the UK. In total, the same Sunderland factory that makes the Juke has put together 24,000 EVs and their batteries. Globally, that number rises to 147,000 sold.
In a few more years, Nissan is rumored to launch a second generation model which is said to have double the battery range. Give it a full decade and this could very well be a normal family car.
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