75% of Nissan LEAF owners intend to repurchase another one in the future, Nissan revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show. Which, for those anxious about range anxiety, is significant.
It indicates the realities of electric car driving are trouble-free for the majority of owners. Not only is range anxiety not an issue, they’re convinced about the merits of owning and driving an electric car, and are prepared to commit to it for their next car.
And those that don’t repurchase? Three main reasons, added Nissan: driving range, charging time and the number of charging stations.
No surprises there.
It can’t physically do much about the latter, but it can lessen the impact of it by addressing the first two – and, R&D chief Kazuki Rodoi revealed during a Tokyo Motor Show briefing, this is exactly what it is doing.
Range extender
“When we started with the LEAF, we offered a 228km (141 mile) driving range,” he said. “Soon [with the launch of the 30kWh LEAF Motoring Research recently drove] , we will offer 280km (173 miles).
“That’s enough for 85% of customers’ use case.” The battery also significantly cuts charge time too, even using the same 50kWh charger. “In the future, we will offer a 100kWh charger,” he added.
That will change the mind of some of that 25% – but a bigger step forward is coming, engineers later revealed. Nissan is working on a high energy density 60kWh battery that will offer a driving range of more than 500km (310 miles), along with faster recharging and longer battery life.
Yes, over 300 miles, from an EV. Without needing a lifetime to recharge. Watch the barriers to entry fall accordingly.
With this promising to eliminate range anxiety, combined with the striking next-generation LEAF design hinted at by the IDS concept, Nissan’s gamble on the electric car with the LEAF looks set to pay back handsomely after all.