50 state ordering to open up "by March 2012"

[Yanquetino]

Nissan just tweeted this today:

Encouraging!

I wonder if Mitsubishi's announcement to accelerate the rollout of the "i" had an influence in this decision...?

 

[redLEAF]

Interesting --- that will put it at just under one month from two years for a national roll out ! (believe the first day to reserve in April 2010) .. still pretty amazing considering the competition

 

[TomT]

So March is when we will find out what kind of demand really exists for the Leaf...

 

[evnow]

So March is when we will find out what kind of demand really exists for the Leaf...

Hmm ... not really. Not unless Nissan can deliver multiple Leafs to dealers without having been ordered first. Even with the small # of dealers Nissan has, we are looking at an extra production of a few thousand Leafs for that.

I think till Smyrna comes online, Leafs will be delivered only after having been reserved, which is also limited by allocation. Nissan can always shift allocation around - I don't even think they have much to gain by flooding US market at this point - given Yen-$ rate.

 

[LeafinThePark]

Excellent!

Wonder how close a March order date will be to order MY2013?

 

[kmp647]

March order will still be a 2012

Though Nissan did state recently that leaf production in the USA would begin in 2012

Meaning maybe they will build some 2013 Leaf at Smyrna in November or december

Those would be August or September orders :roll:

 

[Yanquetino]

Here's a bit of off-the-cuff conjecture.

It wouldn't surprise me if Nissan alters its delivery timeline when the last orders open up "by March 2012." They might be planning on filling those orders with 2013 Leafs built in Snyrna, TN, even though it will mean increasing the waiting period from four to six, eight, maybe even ten months.

Why? Well... I could imagine that they'd want to line up firm orders to better gauge the plant's initial production. It might also help boost the profit margin slightly, since it will likely be cheaper to transport those cars domestically than ship them from Japan. Besides, the demand worldwide just keeps growing, so it is not as if it would cause a drop in the number of customers for the Japanese Leafs. And Nissan might want to tout "made in America" sooner rather than later to deflect some of the criticisms that have been surfacing lately about government loans going to foreign companies.

Would those possible advantages outweigh the disadvantage of further trying the patience of the reservation holders in the "forgotten 22" states? As long as they could finally place their orders, would they be willing to wait a few months longer than in the past to take delivery from the U.S. plant? I would. But maybe that's just me... :?:

 

[smkettner]

How many are really in the order que?
Smyrna production may just go to dealers and the ordering may end with MY2012.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i have to believe that TN factory launch date could be moved up? after all, construction can be sped up for the right amount of money

 

[Stanton]

Here's a bit of off-the-cuff conjecture.

It wouldn't surprise me if Nissan alters its delivery timeline when the last orders open up "by March 2012." They might be planning on filling those orders with 2013 Leafs built in Snyrna, TN, even though it will mean increasing the waiting period from four to six, eight, maybe even ten months.

I think this would make for good business planning. After all, people have been waiting anyway, and this would allow Nissan to properly plan their inventory, etc. (which I think they've been pretty good about for a new product with new technology).

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Considering how many months it took to "wash out" all the frustration on this board from so many people having to wait long periods of time for the Leaf, I'd say having a long wait period in in the future is a PR nightmare and I can't imagine Nissan wanting to continue down that road. A lot of enthusiasm for the car got sapped by all that frustration originally, making customers turn on Nissan and discourage prospective, I was almost one of them that turned away. I'd think the opposite would be true, that they would want to be able to deliver cars to anxious buyers pretty much on demand. I would think the only reason they would go with long waits is to not get stuck with a bunch of product should the winds of the market shift against the Leaf for some reason. If demand is high, I see no reason to not make the ordering and delivery process much swifter, IMHO. For now, the impulse buyer is hardly even given a chance to be part of the equation, that should change.

Here's a bit of off-the-cuff conjecture.

It wouldn't surprise me if Nissan alters its delivery timeline when the last orders open up "by March 2012." They might be planning on filling those orders with 2013 Leafs built in Snyrna, TN, even though it will mean increasing the waiting period from four to six, eight, maybe even ten months.

I think this would make for good business planning. After all, people have been waiting anyway, and this would allow Nissan to properly plan their inventory, etc. (which I think they've been pretty good about for a new product with new technology).

 

[Yanquetino]

Considering how many months it took to "wash out" all the frustration on this board from so many people having to wait long periods of time for the Leaf, I'd say having a long wait period in in the future is a PR nightmare and I can't imagine Nissan wanting to continue down that road. A lot of enthusiasm for the car got sapped by all that frustration originally, making customers turn on Nissan and discourage prospective, I was almost one of them that turned away. I'd think the opposite would be true, that they would want to be able to deliver cars to anxious buyers pretty much on demand. I would think the only reason they would go with long waits is to not get stuck with a bunch of product should the winds of the market shift against the Leaf for some reason. If demand is high, I see no reason to not make the ordering and delivery process much swifter, IMHO. For now, the impulse buyer is hardly even given a chance to be part of the equation, that should change.

You might be right about that! Mine really might be the lone voice in the wilderness.

In my case, the delays and long wait didn't bother me as much as the decision to let new customers in the first Tiers leapfrog us without an explanation, apology, or even a "thank you" for our patience. What I would like to know now, from others in the last states, is whether or not they would tolerate a delivery time a few months longer if it meant they would receive a "made in America" Leaf, with a 6.6V charger, and whatever other improvements might be available (more colors? darker upholstery? etc.)...? Or would that be the "last straw" for them and they'd demand their deposit back...?

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Considering how many months it took to "wash out" all the frustration on this board from so many people having to wait long periods of time for the Leaf, I'd say having a long wait period in in the future is a PR nightmare and I can't imagine Nissan wanting to continue down that road. A lot of enthusiasm for the car got sapped by all that frustration originally, making customers turn on Nissan and discourage prospective, I was almost one of them that turned away. I'd think the opposite would be true, that they would want to be able to deliver cars to anxious buyers pretty much on demand. I would think the only reason they would go with long waits is to not get stuck with a bunch of product should the winds of the market shift against the Leaf for some reason. If demand is high, I see no reason to not make the ordering and delivery process much swifter, IMHO. For now, the impulse buyer is hardly even given a chance to be part of the equation, that should change.

You might be right about that! Mine really might be the lone voice in the wilderness.

In my case, the delays and long wait didn't bother me as much as the decision to let new customers in the first Tiers leapfrog us without an explanation, apology, or even a "thank you" for our patience. What I would like to know now, from others in the last states, is whether or not they would tolerate a delivery time a few months longer if it meant they would receive a "made in America" Leaf, with a 6.6V charger, and whatever other improvements might be available (more colors? darker upholstery? etc.)...? Or would that be the "last straw" for them and they'd demand their deposit back...?

IMHO, as soon as a QC network is available even in limited areas, it's going to become obvious to a lot of folks that the difference between 3.3kW and 6.6kW on L2 is not nearly as big a deal as it is now, like not even worth waiting for. it may turn out even 3 hours is too long for the mainstream. When you car is sitting in a garage overnight, you won't care much whether it takes 6 or 3 hours to charge, when 20 minutes is all you need out in the wild with the current CHAdeMO. It's becoming very clear to me why the EV project required a QC port for buyers... I think they knew it might make all the difference once people got over the fear for the batteries and apprehensions about using such a high voltage system. Unless road blocks become insurmountable for L3 charging network, this whole conversation is going to radically change, I wouldn't even be surprised if 3.3 remains an option at a discount.