LTLFTcomposite
Well-known member
One complaint I've heard from hybrid owners is that when battery replacement time rolls around you give back everything you saved on gas and then some. So you wind up saving gas, but you don't save any money.
Whether Nissan is paying for the replacement battery (and rolling the cost into the warranty projections priced into the car) or the customer gets stuck with the tab, lower battery costs are key to EV success.
The typical driver would put about a grand a year into the tank of a Versa. The same usage in a Leaf would use around $400 a year worth of electricity. Spending an extra 10 grand, not to mention another 7 grand compliments of the US taxpayer, takes nearly 17 years to make back even if the battery lasted forever. If you're looking at nearly 10 thousand in battery replacement costs after 5 years this is starting to look pretty ugly.
Of course at $10 a gallon the picture changes, and also if the battery replacement is only $3k. I'm not suggesting the technology isn't worth pursuing, it absolutely is as a human endeavor, but cost effective transportation? Let's just say you'd be crazy to pay over sticker, cause these things are going to be stacked up on the lot in a few months at current course and speed.
Whether Nissan is paying for the replacement battery (and rolling the cost into the warranty projections priced into the car) or the customer gets stuck with the tab, lower battery costs are key to EV success.
The typical driver would put about a grand a year into the tank of a Versa. The same usage in a Leaf would use around $400 a year worth of electricity. Spending an extra 10 grand, not to mention another 7 grand compliments of the US taxpayer, takes nearly 17 years to make back even if the battery lasted forever. If you're looking at nearly 10 thousand in battery replacement costs after 5 years this is starting to look pretty ugly.
Of course at $10 a gallon the picture changes, and also if the battery replacement is only $3k. I'm not suggesting the technology isn't worth pursuing, it absolutely is as a human endeavor, but cost effective transportation? Let's just say you'd be crazy to pay over sticker, cause these things are going to be stacked up on the lot in a few months at current course and speed.