Nissan: Leaf will snag Prius owners

[Cacti]

This was posted on PriusChat:

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100531/RETAIL03/305319971

"
SMYRNA, Tenn. -- Owners of Toyota Motor Corp.'s fuel-efficient Prius hybrid will succumb to the charms of the Nissan Leaf electric sedan, predicts Nissan Division Vice President Al Castignetti.

More than half of the 130,000 hand-raisers who have expressed an interest in the Leaf so far have been Prius owners, he said."

 

[sparky]

I thought this was pretty telling:

Castignetti said the early customer enthusiasm has helped warm some Nissan dealers to selling electric vehicles. "At first, some of them were probably a little skeptical about EVs because they were dealing with the unknown," he said. "But the consumer response -- including phone calls from people responding to seeing the Leaf in our TV ads -- has gotten them pretty pumped up about it now."

I think Nissan will continue to have some trouble with the dealers and the LEAF rollout. I've contacted several in my area and visited two; they're uninformed, uninterested and seemingly unable to grasp the difference between a LEAF customer and one for a Versa/Sentra/Rogue. I was so turned off when I visited, it's making me re-think the Lease vs Buy option based on the fact that I'll enjoy less dealer contact if I buy.

 

[garygid]

While recognizing that "today's sales" are highest priority, I have offered to help my nearby dealers understand the "rustle" of LEAFs that is coming.

I offer to answer their questions, and try to mention:
1. how an EV is "fit" to a buyer,
2. how these initial LEAF "sales" are different, and
3. how they can attract these customers.

So far, their response has been enthusiastic, grateful that somebody is willing to help them understand what is going on, and what is likely to happen.

But, I have only visited two dealers so far.

 

[Nubo]

The Prius tie-in makes sense to me. I'm sure a lot of folks opted for Prius as a "lesser of evils" approach since no viable BEV was available.

 

[BrendanDolan]

The Prius tie-in makes sense to me. I'm sure a lot of folks opted for Prius as a "lesser of evils" approach since no viable BEV was available.

Bingo. I know a lot of hybrid drivers who went that route only because it was the most viable option at the time of purchase. A friend of mine who is an Internet Manager at a local Toyota store says that a huge number of new Prius customers are asking about the Leaf, and a ton of them are holding off on their purchases till they have a chance to check the Leaf out.

 

[mitch672]

The Prius tie-in makes sense to me. I'm sure a lot of folks opted for Prius as a "lesser of evils" approach since no viable BEV was available.

Bingo. I know a lot of hybrid drivers who went that route only because it was the most viable option at the time of purchase. A friend of mine who is an Internet Manager at a local Toyota store says that a huge number of new Prius customers are asking about the Leaf, and a ton of them are holding off on their purchases till they have a chance to check the Leaf out.

Yep, I already told my Toyota dealer (who I have bought 3 Prius's from so far), that Toyota has already blown it, and I am done with them. I am not waiting until calendar mid-year 2012 for a 13 mile PHEV (Plug in Prius), I will already be over a year into driving the Leaf by then (even with 2nd half of 2011 deilvery in the Boston area). Not happy with Toyota, and it's going to hurt the resale value on my 2010 Prius, I may have to keep it as a backup, but I was planning on keeping the 1994 Suburban, that doesn't get used except for snow plowing as the backup/alternate ICE car.

 

[Bicster]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the lone person here who isn't buying a Leaf because it's the green thing to do. :twisted:

I'm encouraged that about half of Leaf reservation holders aren't Prius owners!

 

[evnow]

This is interesting - we have talked about this in other threads.

Nissan now is telling dealers what will be required of them to sell the electric car. Most retailers must install three charging stations: one in their service area, one in their lot where cars are delivered by truck and a third on the property where owners can stop by for easy charger access.

Large stores will require a fourth charger, Castignetti said, and small stores will have to install only two.

 

[Zythryn]

I think Nissan will continue to have some trouble with the dealers and the LEAF rollout. I've contacted several in my area and visited two; they're uninformed, uninterested and seemingly unable to grasp the difference between a LEAF customer and one for a Versa/Sentra/Rogue. I was so turned off when I visited, it's making me re-think the Lease vs Buy option based on the fact that I'll enjoy less dealer contact if I buy.

Interesting, my experiences are just the opposite.
Of the two dealers I visited, both were well informed and very excited about the Leaf.

I am one of the Prius owners it looks like the Leaf will 'snag'.
I have been disappointed that Toyota hasn't updated the Rav4ev and started selling it again.

 

[mwalsh]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the lone person here who isn't buying a Leaf because it's the green thing to do. :twisted:

I'm encouraged that about half of Leaf reservation holders aren't Prius owners!

I lost interest in the Prius because, at the end of the day, it didn't really meet my goal of not wanting to use gasoline for my commute anymore. I must admit that I might have gone Prius at one time IF they'd come up with a PHEV version from the factory. But now affordable and highway capable EVs are on the horizon....not a chance.

 

[evnow]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the lone person here who isn't buying a Leaf because it's the green thing to do. :twisted:

I'm encouraged that about half of Leaf reservation holders aren't Prius owners!

I didn't buy Prius either.

I calculated total emissions for a period of 10 years - one with continueing to use my current car & then getting an EV after a couple of years. The other buying a prius and using it for 10 years. The conclusion was that, if I could buy an EV within 4 years, I was better off waiting. That is what I've done ... this was like 2 years back. :twisted:

 

[Bicster]

The funny thing is, when the Prius first came out, I remember thinking what an absurd idea it was. There was a car that literally had twice as many things to go wrong, and an expensive battery, which at the time I was convinced wouldn't last very long. I also expected poor resale value.

Over the last few years I've warmed up to the idea. Toyota's implementation has proven itself to be reliable and resale is good. Then I had an opportunity to drive a Gen2 Prius (rental) and I found it to be a soul-crushing experience. Aside from saving fuel, driving a Prius is not a rewarding thing to do. (Sorry, Prius drivers. I hope Gen3 is better!) Kudos to Toyota anyway. The Prius has made a lot of other things possible. It has really shaken up the auto industry.

I very much like the series hybrid idea (ala Volt), but I have the impression that the Volt is over-engineered in ways that will make it too expensive and possibly unreliable and/or expensive to repair. Although I respect current GM products a lot more than GM products of yore, I'm still not sure I want to buy one. Before the Leaf was announced I was prepared to buy a Volt, but pure-EV, non-GM is the way I prefer to go.

If Toyota developed a hybrid Sienna, I'd probably buy one, because frankly, nobody expects a minivan to be rewarding to drive anyway. :lol:

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i also find it confusing that Toyota has not reintroduced an upgraded version of the RAV 4 EV. part of that issue stems from the fact that the power pack is no longer an option, but seems to me that it could be upgraded to LI.

i fear that Toyota has greatly underestimated the movement towards EV's and no doubt the Gulf Crisis had provided a huge momentum boost.

with the majority of homes having 2 or more vehicles, a significant niche market for medium range EVs would appear to be a no-brainer. has Toyota's vaunted engineering staff been trumped by Nissan?? i can t help but think that Nissan has overcome a technical hurdle that Toyota has yet to figure out....or is it, the Leaf will be a major flop?? naah...

remember Nissan was the first major auto manufacturer to be faced with the reality that they might not be able to continue doing business back in the early part of this century. they realized they could not compete with Toyota or Honda, so they took a different route and i am glad they did it. they may be the catalyst that awakens the sleeping giants

 

[mitch672]

Being one who drives the "soul crushing" Prius, I can tell you that each generation of the Prius has gotten better and better. I routinly find myself keeping up with 75-85 mph traffic, I hardly would call the Gen3 Prius "sole crushing". Even so, I am going to keep the prius for long trips, and use the leaf as my daily commuter. Eventually I hope to be able to part with my 1994 Suburban, once I don't need it to plow my driveway and parking area, you want soul crushing? Try an old suburban that gets 10 MPG on a good day...

 

[Jimmydreams]

Being one who drives the "soul crushing" Prius, I can tell you that each generation of the Prius has gotten better and better. I routinly find myself keeping up with 75-85 mph traffic, I hardly would call the Gen3 Prius "sole crushing". Even so, I am going to keep the prius for long trips, and use the leaf as my daily commuter. Eventually I hope to be able to part with my 1994 Suburban, once I don't need it to plow my driveway and parking area, you want soul crushing? Try an old suburban that gets 10 MPG on a good day...

I guess it depends on what your definition of 'soul crushing' is...

My BMW dealer would use a base model Toyota Camry (IIRC) as loaner cars. To drive one of those after a BMW is definitely 'soul-crushing' when you realize the brakes are 1/4 what you're used to, the tires and turning feel is about 1/4 of what you're used to, the pickup about 1/4 of what you're used to, etc. etc.....maybe it's bad press, but I've heard from many sources that the Prius drives like crap.

I haven't driven one and was about to start sniffing around a 3rd gen Prius when the Aptera seemed like an option. Now it's the Leaf. If the Leaf fails to live up to it's expectations, I'll be sniffing around a plug-in Prius when they come out.

 

[scottsim]

Acting on my Leaf reservation is VERY dependant on the real-world range of the Leaf, and the implementation of fast-charging. My converted PHEV Prius might just get me "by" until I see a practical EV with a decent range.

 

[johnr]

This seems to indicate that a lot of Prius owners wanted an electric car all along, and they settled for a hybrid as it was the closest they could get at the time.

 

[LEAFer]

RIGHT! And they would have happily purchased EV1's ... hint GM ! If GM hadn't screwed up ("people don't want electric cars") they might be enjoying a leadership position with gen3 of the EV1 today !

 

[garygid]

The Prius still gets all of its energy from gas. But, 50 mpg is better than 22 mpg. I await a really good EV. The LEAF is a good start, but still rather heavy, not aerodynamic, etc., so it uses too much energy per mile.

GM was really saying that they did not want to learn to do something new.

 

[javan]

This seems to indicate that a lot of Prius owners wanted an electric car all along, and they settled for a hybrid as it was the closest they could get at the time.

I purchased a Prius the first day they were available online, have loved the car, and have been happily driving it over 220,000 miles thus far. When delivered it was one of the first 200 in the US. When I had originally read about it after its Japanese debut, my wife and I both thought that it was a good first step toward a far less polluting vehicle and we did "settle" at that time for the Prius (and I'm glad we did). I am also extremely disappointed with Toyota for not pursuing all electric vehicles after the RAV4ev. They squandered a lot of goodwill and good engineering along the way in my opinion. I am now looking forward to the Leaf.