evchels said:
Re leasing vs purchasing, another reason Nissan probably expected more of the former is because the monthly payment is so much lower with the tax credit applied directly. Combined with the assumption that EV features and choices will change in the first few years, I know many folks who leased this time, but intend to go back to purchasing with their next EV.
While the financial advantages of leasing vs. buying are certainly a consideration, Leasing is the path that most high tech early adopters tend to take simply because of familiarity with the technology advancement curve. A version 1 of any high tech product is always a compromise of schedule, cost, component supply, and manufacturing capacity. As a rule, it is not until version 3 of something that it actually meets the original marketing and design goals for the product. That version is usually the first one that the high tech early adopter considers purchasing.
The desire to own the version 1 LEAF really took us all as a surprise, and is a great testimony to the confidence that these early adopter owners placed in Nissan. And while I applaud those of you that subscribe to the notion of owning and operating a vehicle until "the wheels fall off", you must understand that you are a dwindling breed. The replacement and recycling of vehicles today averages 8~10 years or less, so today's vehicles are designed with that duty cycle in mind.
The LEAF is an excellent example of that. It is designed to be 100% recyclable, so having a useful life of 5 ~ 10 years is misleading. All of the components of the car are designed to be used over and over again in other forms. Nothing is wasted.
And in every recycled reincarnation, the resultant reborn LEAF becomes better and better.