Nissan announces roll-out plan for electric Leaf

Jul 28, 2010 10:55 AM

Not willing to let the Chevrolet Volt grab all the attention yesterday for its pricing, Nissan announced more details on when its Leaf hatchback will be available to the nearly 17,000 people who placed early reservations for the electric car. The first Leaf will be turned over in December to drivers in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington; these states represent 55 percent of the total reservations. In addition, these states are part of the EV Project--an electric vehicle infrastructure program partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to bring charging stations to these areas. The early reservations are expected to morph into firm orders in August.

Next, the Leaf will be available in Texas and Hawaii in January, then Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. in April 2011. The rest of the states will rollout beginning next fall through the end of 2011.

Nissan also announced that the lithium-ion battery will have an eight year, 100,000-mile warranty, matching the protection offered for the upcoming Volt.

Through the reservation process, Nissan has been able to reveal other details on what future Leaf drivers want:

The most popular color is blue with 30 percent of the reservations for that shade. Silver comes in second with 26 percent.
Seventy-five percent chose the SL trim level, which includes a rear-view camera, solar panel spoiler, fog lights, and automatic headlights.
About three-quarters of the people who placed reservations own a single family home and 68 percent have attached garages, helpful for home charging.

Nissan is still continuing to accept reservations through its Web site for a $99 (refundable) fee.

—Liza Barth

For more on the Leaf, see our related reports:
Video: Nissan Leaf gets a soundtrack
Pricing: 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car