Tier 2 pushed back to Summer 2011???

[TRONZ]

Watched the Event video on YouTube. "Little Carlos" was worth listening to. Does anyone think that the slower rollout in North America is due to the Dollar/Yen problem? From a financial standpoint Nissan might be wanting to put a few more LEAF's on Japanese roads for 2011. Its been talked about elsewhere but if I were a betting man this is where I would place my wager.

 

[TimeHorse]

my car will not be delivered until ....FEBRUARY 2011.

Calm down, friend. There has already been much talk of the delivery dates being inflated by 2 weeks or so so that Nissan can look like Mr. Scott when they deliver them ahead of schedule. You've probably only got about 5-6 more weeks waiting George.

 

[LakeLeaf]

It might be helpful is some of those who ordered on 1 SEP and 2 SEP jump in here.

I'm a 3 SEP order and my dashboard simply says "Pending" for the delivery date.

If you're an August order and have a delivery date - let's assume that date - whatever it has changed to lately - still means something. I'm also assuming right now that if the account says "Pending" that may well mean that I have been pushed back into the Tier 2 delivery schedule which now sounds to be 7 months away or more.

It would be great if we could re-hear from other 1 and 2 and 3 SEP orders as to whether or not they have a delivery date right now - or just a pending.

 

[LakeLeaf]

I've been involved with a couple of engineering projects that suffered a 6 month plus delay. In each of my cases, the reason for the delay was that something didn't work as it was supposed to when the parts came back from manufacturing. That long a time period is about how long to takes to redesign and remanufacture a major component - especially if it is something like a semiconductor part which is essentially sole sourced.

If this delay is true - it doesn't really sound like a manufacturing issue - unless they have decided they need some new equipment for the assembly line. You would hope that Nissan understands how to build cars on an assembly line by now. It may be a manfacturability issue - something isn't going together right and they have to redesign the component and remanufacture it.

It is hard to understand what parts could cause such a delay - except a part that is unique to this car. Could they have found a problem with the batteries? If so - it may be the case of only building a handful of show cars so they don't have to replace hundreds or thousands of cars because of battery issues. Could it be a custom ASIC which isn't working right? I suppose it could be software too - but one would hope that they wouldn't project a 6 month delay for a software glitch - especially if it is something like Carwings - which is of minimal value to most anyway.

I would sincerely hope that Mark Perry or someone senior at Nissan acts like a grownup and lets us know what the issue is and how Nissan is working to resolve it. As many have said - lots have commitments to sell their current cars, or have not invested in expensive repairs believing their current cars would be gone in a month. As a consumer, we really need to understand what the timelines are so that we can re-engineer our lives to the new time schedule.

 

[TimeHorse]

Well, I've taken my car to the mechanic 3 times in the past 2 years and they've never been able to fix my turn signals and I am pretty desperate to dump this auto -- or at least relegate it to backup but it looks like I'll have to suffer my accident-prone no-turn-signals car for another year. >sigh<

 

[evnow]

If you're an August order and have a delivery date - let's assume that date - whatever it has changed to lately - still means something. I'm also assuming right now that if the account says "Pending" that may well mean that I have been pushed back into the Tier 2 delivery schedule which now sounds to be 7 months away or more.

No way that is correct. I'd say Sep 2/3 Orders saying "Pending" now means Feb/Mar delivery.

 

[tps]

The December "roll out" tour is great, but now I'm feeling worse about when I'll be able to order (forgotten 36) than I did when Lance got his LEAF... My 20 year old Toyota Camry died last month (transmission problems) and the Nissan dealership sold me a used Chevy Maulibu to hold me over until the LEAF is available here in PA. The interim car is a financial hit, the EVSE will be a financial hit (no tax credit), and who knows how big a financial hit I'll take on the LEAF after the excitement wears off and it's car dealer business as usual. OTOH, maybe EVSE prices will fall in the next year. Maybe I won't get to order until TN comes on-line and LEAF prices will fall a bit...

 

[turbo2ltr]

It would be great if we could re-hear from other 1 and 2 and 3 SEP orders as to whether or not they have a delivery date right now - or just a pending.

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1949

And more importantly the spreadsheet..

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AptkktKEhdz9dGhheXpqT09naFdkYjN4aXJ4NlNPV3c&hl=en&authkey=CJm01I8B#gid=0

 

[LEAFfan]

It might be helpful is some of those who ordered on 1 SEP and 2 SEP jump in here.

I'm a 3 SEP order and my dashboard simply says "Pending" for the delivery date.

If you're an August order and have a delivery date - let's assume that date - whatever it has changed to lately - still means something. I'm also assuming right now that if the account says "Pending" that may well mean that I have been pushed back into the Tier 2 delivery schedule which now sounds to be 7 months away or more.

It would be great if we could re-hear from other 1 and 2 and 3 SEP orders as to whether or not they have a delivery date right now - or just a pending.

I'm late Sept. (29th) and Mark Perry told me that it could be possibly Feb., but Mar. is more likely.

 

[Desertstraw]

According to a local news story, the first Nissan was sold at a five percent discount. Since I have ordered at near MSRP, I feel that I have not done very well. Can you change dealers after ordering from one?

 

[LakeLeaf]

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1949

And more importantly the spreadsheet..

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AptkktKEhdz9dGhheXpqT09naFdkYjN4aXJ4NlNPV3c&hl=en&authkey=CJm01I8B#gid=0

Thanks - I didn't see that. It will be interesting to watch that spreadsheet and see if any of those pendings (especially outside of the initial rollout areas) get Jan/Feb/Mar delivery dates. When someone announces a 6 month delay - it is usually because they have uncovered some type of issue, so if Nissan says nothing about the delay, it will be interesting to see if deliveries just stop, or if there is a slow trickle

 

[evnow]

According to a local news story, the first Nissan was sold at a five percent discount. Since I have ordered at near MSRP, I feel that I have not done very well. Can you change dealers after ordering from one?

OT for this thread. Start a new thread on this - but I doubt you can do it.

 

[TimeHorse]

Listen, I don't want to point fingers here because we could equally blame all of us in the survey asking for me from our LEAF that made them punt us to 2012, but one thing I've noticed is that 13 of the 43 area Nissan Dealerships have yet to be LEAF certified last I checked, so could this be the reason the LEAF's been delayed on the Atlantic Coast? To allow those dealerships time to install the infrastructure (EVSEs) required for certification? Or are they asking for the delay in order to allow them time to do so? Again, if one dealership is asking for an extension in our area, rest assured there are no doubt others in the Carolinas and Florida and elsewhere doing the same.

 

[malamastra]

Hi,I am from Maryland and recieved my email late yesderday. To be honest,I having second thoughts on buying a 2010/2011 leaf in 2012. It appears to me that I would be buying a leaf with all the flaws of a first generation with the 2nd generation just a few month down the road. Also I do not like he idea of waiting 16 month to buy a car it does not feel right to me. I welcome any thoughts.

 

[kmp647]

its true there are a number of dealers who dont seem ready

its really just a commitment and online training and special training for techs at a class

the evse gets installed way after the dealer accepts orders

so having evse insatlled is NOT a requirment for cerfication

I would fully expect a 2012 Leaf(with a full cold weather spec) if I order in aug and take delivery December 2011 or Jan 2012

cant wait to hear what everyone gets as an answer from Nissan tomorrow
EVSE installs are not the issue nor are public stations

the only stations most people need are L2 at home

and L1 at work

if you chat tomorrow have copy your email and post here

 

[tps]

one thing I've noticed is that 13 of the 43 area Nissan Dealerships have yet to be LEAF certified last I checked, so could this be the reason the LEAF's been delayed on the Atlantic Coast?

So far as I can tell "Leaf Certified" means the dealer plans to be Leaf Certified by the time Nissan rolls LEAFs out in the area, not that they have completed requirements for LEAF certification. As I understand it, a couple of people at my PD have had some (probably not all) of the training. It seemed I was more knowledgeable about the LEAF than anyone at my PD. I certainly didn't see any EVSEs or LEAF service bays or equipment.

I think the fact that the LEAF EV rollout is, because of the enormous infrastructure required for its success and the paradigm shift required from drivers, unlike any normal auto model rollout. Normally, when a new car model comes out, they quickly appear on the road everywhere. Sadly (for many of us who are anxiously waiting) Nissan is probably doing the right thing from a public perception standpoint. They can't get infrastructure in everywhere at once, nor do they have capacity to produce the batteries and other key components fast enough. To give average consumers the perception the EV rollout is not a flop, they've concentrated the rollout into small geographic areas so the cars will seem to appear (in those areas, at least) reasonably quickly.

 

[kmp647]

I still say again, either the line is slowed down

or lots of other lucky people are getting a Leaf
who are not paying with US $
its one or the other

 

[LBCev]

I still say again, either the line is slowed down

or lots of other lucky people are getting a Leaf
who are not paying with US $
its one or the other

So long as we're dallying in conspiracy theories; do we actually know how much demand there is in Japan after the initial 6,000 pre-orders? To my knowledge, Nissan has not offered any updates in months regarding its home market since last summer. Also, I'm very curious about the percentage of pre-orders turning into confirmed orders in both the US and Japan. They may have slowed production because conversions to real orders are not materializing as they anticipated in any market. By trickling the car out, Nissan can create the illusion of demand and maintain the excitement and media attention as it is rolled out to subsequent markets.

Personally, I think it is in their interest to get these in the hands of as many people as possible as soon as possible. They need to be defined as the "EV" before there are other, more stylish options in the marketplace. Also, fence-sitters and naysayers alike need to see that this will work for their day to day lives. They need to see their friends, family members and co-workers happily commuting with nary a hitch before they'll bite on this whole "EV" thing.

 

[LBCev]

I still say again, either the line is slowed down

or lots of other lucky people are getting a Leaf
who are not paying with US $
its one or the other

So long as we're dallying in conspiracy theories; do we actually know how much demand there is in Japan after the initial 6,000 pre-orders? To my knowledge, Nissan has not offered any updates in months regarding its home market since last summer. Also, I'm very curious about the percentage of pre-orders turning into confirmed orders in both the US and Japan. They may have slowed production because conversions to real orders are not materializing as they anticipated in any market. By trickling the car out, Nissan can create the illusion of demand and maintain the excitement and media attention as it is rolled out to subsequent markets.

Personally, I think it is in their interest to get these in the hands of as many people as possible as soon as possible. They need to be defined as the "EV" before there are other, more stylish options in the marketplace. Also, fence-sitters and naysayers alike need to see that this will work for their day to day lives. They need to see their friends, family members and co-workers happily commuting with nary a hitch before they'll bite on this whole "EV" thing.

Might delays also have to do with the pending pedestrian warning sound legislation which calls for "continuous sound" at low speeds? In the first model year LEAF this sound has an off switch. With this legislation, Nissan may have to pull/disable all of those. Apparently, this is why Hyundai is delaying the new Sonata hybrid till Q1. http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencarad...s-delivery-of-2011-hyundai-sonata-hybrid.html

I love speculation on a Sunday morning!

 

[TimeHorse]

its true there are a number of dealers who dont seem ready

its really just a commitment and online training and special training for techs at a class

the evse gets installed way after the dealer accepts orders

so having evse insatlled is NOT a requirment for cerfication

True, but if we're talking the original April 2011 delivery time frame, maybe those dealers are hoping to do the necessary EVSE installs in Summer 2011 and didn't want to try and rush them to be built in the winter.

Either way, I've updated the article to include this possibility. When we get a definitive answer, I'll post a followup but for now I'll keep updating the original as needed.