Why are electric cars more expensive than their gasoline counterparts? The answer is quite simple, new technology and related equipment drives up the cost of the vehicle. Well there's a lot more to the answer than that, but Nissan believes that EVs can cost the same as a comparable gasoline model and is using this guideline to price its upcoming Nissan Leaf.
According to Brian Carolin, Nissan's marketing executive for North America, the cost of the upcoming Leaf will be equivalent to the monthly cost of a fully loaded Honda Civic, plus the cost of its monthly fuel bill. To simplify pricing Carolin broke it down as such, "That means the purchase price (about $28,000) or comparable monthly payment for a high-end Civic plus the cost of the gasoline it would need to cover 1,200 miles (at 30 MPG and $3/gallon, about $120."
Well maybe the words of Carolin are not easy to decipher. It appears as though he is trying to say that a Nissan Leaf will run about $120 more per month in payments if the vehicle is financed.
For example, if a fully loaded Honda Civic can be leased for $319 per month. Adding in a monthly fuel cost of $120 brings the total monthly out of pocket expense to $439. Nissan will either sell or lease the Leaf and its battery at that same price.
To add even more complicated numbers into the mix, Nissan plans to sell the car minus the battery and then lease the battery for around $120 per month. Additionally, Carolin added," We may sell the car and battery together, we may lease it as a package, or we may sell the car and lease the battery. We just haven't decided yet."
Maybe the words from Carolin are downright vague for a reason. Nissan wont' officially announce pricing for the Leaf until early next spring. Until then, we only have the words of Carolin and the companies assertion that the Leaf's total monthly costs will be no more than a comparably equipped, gasoline powered vehicle's total monthly costs.
Source: Edmunds.com
