New member researching Leaf ownership

Hi all,

My name is Cian Harrington, and I am researching barriers to electrificaitons of road transport, and potential solutions to overcome such barriers. I am based in Cranfield university in the UK.

My initial work is addressing user/owner issues such as purchase cost, operating cost and residual value.
I have simple questions and I would be delighted with any feedback on this.

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf?
2. what is your average daily distance?
3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities
a. at home? (yes/no)
b. at work (yes/no)
c. other local public access (yes/no)

4. do you consider yourself an early adopter?
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
a. 80% after 5 years
b. 70% after 10 years

I hope you can help on this.
the main aim of my work is to seek ways to grow the EV and P-HEV market by minimising user/owner risk

Thanks for your time

Cian

1. lease
2. 14-50 miles
3. a yes
b. no
c. yes
4. yes
5. legislation permanent changes to laws showing that EVs are here to stay
6. a any good option would fit the needs of someone
b. say what?
c. for what price? Nissan would be a fool to announce pricing for something that is years down the road

6 a

1. Buy
2. About 40 miles, but can be anywhere from 30 to 70
3.
a. at home? yes
b. at work? no
c. other local public access? yes. Although sporadic at the moment, it does exist. I have changed my habits to visit businesses that do have charging available. But I don't really rely on public charging.

4. Definitely not. In fact I usually avoid it. I just feel more strongly about protecting the environment and reducing dependence on oil.
5. I have no idea because I'm not a conservative buyer. In my opinion though (c) is most important.
6. I'd say (b), but I'd be willing to put up with even a little less range. But 10 years is definitely the timeframe I'm shooting for. That may be because of my belief that in 10 years our second car will also be an EV but with a significantly larger range, and the LEAF will be relegated to light duty.

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf?
2. 40 miles
3. a) yes b) no c) yes (but don't use them much)

4. definitely
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf
c) and possibly b)
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
b) but doing everything I can to do better (like mostly 80% charging)

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf? -- Leased to maximize Gov't tax credit, then bought out lease after 3 months.
2. what is your average daily distance? -- 40 miles/day (varies from 5-80, but closely on track for a total of 15,000 miles/year)
3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities
a. at home? (yes/no) -- Yes
b. at work (yes/no) -- No
c. other local public access (yes/no) -- No. We do, however, have limited public facilities at some schools and government offices, but none are yet especially useful except for people who work there.
4. do you consider yourself an early adopter? -- Generally no, but in the case of EVs, yes.
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale -- This one is the best of the three if it is actually referring to the entire vehicle, but I don't see any as particularly good encouragements. At least for American individuals I know, they buy or lease entire assemblies, not components.
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
a. 80% after 5 years
b. 70% after 10 years -- This is my first choice of the two. My personal expectation gauge is to have 80% remaining after 10 years.

Good luck with your effort!

1. Buy, due to U.S. state level 10% incentive on purchased EV's only
2. about 30 miles weekdays; close to 70 miles on weekend days

3. Yes
a. at home? yes
b. at work not currently but being considered
c. other local public access yes -- 4 stations available en route

4. Yes

5. Which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery maybe
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale similar to CPO for luxury cars, if showed significant price reduction yes
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life yes, if car chassis in good shape, a simple battery replacement would lengthen the cars usefulness

6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
a. 80% after 5 years no, expect longer
b. 70% after 10 years expect ~80%; although no long range studies have really determined this, some early Prius models 10+ years old still have full battery capacity, little to no degradation

Not included but keep in mind some of us have had our cars for at least a year, some much less and in more 'harsh' climates than the original launch states ...

1. Buy
2. 25-30 miles
3.
a. Yes
b. No
c. Yes
4. Yes
5.
a. Yes
b. Yes
c. No
6.
b.

1. Buy
2. 55 Miles
3a. Yes
3b. Yes
3c. Yes (I would say barely yes, its limited but still some in convient places)
4. No
5. B - if they bought used its completely needed, but it wouldn't do anything for people that bought new. Honestly the best is let them test drive it for a few days. Thats the best way
6. A/B - I believe it will have 80% is a good amount, 70% is low in my book. But 5 years ownership is too low too, it should be 8-10. The best is 8-10 with 80%

Hi All,

Brilliant.
Thank you for your response, some very interesting trends, expectations and comments already.
As I said this is an initial info grab, but when the responses have settled I will collate and present the data.
all my work will be open source and disseminated widely

keep the answers coming.

cheers

cian

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf? : Lease
2. what is your average daily distance? : 20 Miles
3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities
a. at home? (yes/no) Yes
b. at work (yes/no) No
c. other local public access (yes/no) Yes

4. do you consider yourself an early adopter? Yes
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf : All of the below
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range) : B
a. 80% after 5 years
b. 70% after 10 years

Cian said:

Hi all,

My name is Cian Harrington, and I am researching barriers to electrificaitons of road transport, and potential solutions to overcome such barriers. I am based in Cranfield university in the UK.

My initial work is addressing user/owner issues such as purchase cost, operating cost and residual value.
I have simple questions and I would be delighted with any feedback on this.

Click to expand...

Cian, I suggest rewording the title. I'll move it to a more appropriate forum. From the title, I thought you were a potential leaf owner reasearching to see whether Leaf would be ok for you.

A "General and New Owners" forum is WAY too ... general, since anything can be considered General.

A "New Owners" sub-forum, and then maybe "Experieced Owners" ...

I think adding a dozen or two or more specific sub-forums would help a lot.

1. Bought. (My state has a very generous tax credit for purchased EVs but it is significantly reduced for leased cars. Also, my annual mileage is too low for leasing to be cost-effective. I realize that I am gambling on the battery pack holding up and the price of a replacement being reasonable.)

2. Average isn't meaningful because I don't commute in the usual sense of the term: I am retired and my volunteer work is varied. My greatest number of trips are 18 miles with 1300 feet of vertical elevation change. The long trips—for grocery shopping—are about 66 miles with 2500 feet of vertical elevation change.

3.
a. Yes
b. No
c. No, there is no public charging whatsoever where I live. I am working with the town near me and the local power co-op to try to change that but it will take some years.

4. Yes. I put in solar panels almost four years ago as "phase 1" of a future EV purchase. I consider my purchase of a first generation LEAF "voting with my dollars" for EVs to be successful.

5.
a. Possibly, but it wouldn't interest me.
b. I think this is vital for used car buyers.
c. I doubt that this would have much effect on reluctant EV buyers, my sense is that their concerns lie elsewhere.

6.
a. 80% might limit the trips I could make unless public charging becomes available but I'd be disappointed if the battery was at 80% after only five years
b. I'd probably think about replacing the battery at 70%. It's not just reduced range, one possible problem is that the power that could be drawn from the battery might also be reduced, affecting acceleration.

1. lease
2. 50 miles
3. a. yes
b. no
c. yes
4. yes
5. None of these really, but I guess "C". My answer would be more range (150 "worst case" miles)
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life
6. B
a. 80% after 5 years
b. 70% after 10 years

1 buy
2 50 miles
3a yes, b no
4 No
5 none
6c 50% at 20 years

1. buy
2. 35 miles
3. a. yes
b. no
c. yes
4. no
5. none of the above, but c if you make me answer
6. b

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf? -- Buy
2. what is your average daily distance? -- 30 miles/day
3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities
-------a. at home? (yes/no) -- Yes L2
-------b. at work (yes/no) -- yes L2
-------c. other local public access (yes/no) -- Yes the city we live in has several L2 Free changing station( city hall, library, parks etc...)
4. do you consider yourself an early adopter? -- No bought for cheaper alternative to Gasoline and to use Domestic energy
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf ALL
-------a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
-------b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale --
-------c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
-------a. 80% after 5 years
-------b. 70% after 10 years xx would like 80%

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf? BUY
2. what is your average daily distance? 30 MILES
3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities
a. at home? (yes/no) YES, FAST CHARGING
b. at work (yes/no) SLOW CHARGING
c. other local public access (yes/no) YES BUT NEVER USED

4. do you consider yourself an early adopter? NO EXCEPT I CONSIDER MYSELF AN ENVIRONMENTALIST
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life -- NO IDEA, MAYBE THIS ONE
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
a. 80% after 5 years
b. 70% after 10 years -- THIS ONE

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf? Buy
2. what is your average daily distance? Varies. +/- 80% of my driving can be done in LEAF.
3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities
a. at home? (yes/no) Yes
b. at work (yes/no) I don't work. No facilities at husband's office. He drives LEAF to work about once a week
c. other local public access (yes/no) No

4. do you consider yourself an early adopter? Yes
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf Longer range, gov commitment to public charging
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the battery
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range) B
a. 80% after 5 years
b. 70% after 10 years

1. did you buy or lease your Leaf? BUY
2. what is your average daily distance? 63 MILES (17,800 miles / 283 days of ownership)

EDIT: Please don't accept my average to substantiate an 80 mile range battery is adequate for me. It is NOT. I have now ran the LEAF out of energy a total of 17 times, and there were many trips I couldn't take at all, due to range. I have traveled 225 miles in a day, but that was an arduous task, made more painful by such limited infrastructure and slow 3.3kW charger. I frequently drive over 100 miles per day, no thanks to the battery capacity. It requires hours of charging throughout the day; a real pain in my posterior.

Asking for an average drive really doesn't mean much, in my context.

3. do you have ease of access to charging facilities (NO, VERY LIMITED)
a. at home? (yes/no). YES
b. at work (yes/no). N/A
c. other local public access (yes/no) NO

4. do you consider yourself an early adopter? YES
5. which do you think would encourage more conservative buyers to purchase a Leaf
a. purchase chassis of vehicle but lease the batteryYES
b. Nissan certificaiton of semi-used battery before resale YES
c. buy-back of battery (by nissan or third party) at end of battery life YES
6. when do you feel the battery has reached its useable life (resulting in reduced range)
a. 80% after 5 years. YES
b. 70% after 10 years YES