Nissan Leaf Sales Beat Chevy Volt Year to Date
Nissan took the hack-and-slash route with its Leaf Electric car, cutting prices dramatically with increased sales numbers in mind.
It’s working. The Japanese automaker dropped $6,000 from the car’s price this year and the numbers speak for themselves. Year-to-date, Nissan reports selling 7,614 of its EVs. That’s up 191.4 percent over last year and 457 units better than the same figure for the Chevrolet Volt.
For 2013, the Leaf claims a slightly longer range with an EPA rated 75-mile maximum on one charge. That’s only a sight increase, and not likely a large factor in the car’s new-found success. Lowering the price is another story altogether.
Last year, Chevrolet sold 23,461 Volts while Nissan only managed to move 9,819 of its Leaf EVs. Already, the two cars are nearly neck-and-neck, with the Nissan taking the edge.
A month ago, GM CEO Dan Akerson said the Volt is costing the company money. Nonetheless, the brand will reduce the price by $10,000 for the next generation. Looking to take advantage of economies of scale, the company could reuce production costs by increasing volume. That will already happen as Cadillac introduces the ELR: a luxury cousin to the Volt.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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The EPA rates the 13MY LEAF at 84 miles of range when charged to 100%. They decided to average 80% range and 100% range to come up with the "official" number for some reason.
The LEAF is just an overall better car! $10,000 less makes it all the sweeter!