DC Quickcharging for Leafs at dealers

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tranhv68

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
9
When I purchased my 2012 Leaf I was well aware of the 73mile EPA mixed driving cycle. As my work was only 25 miles roundtrip, I felt I had plenty of range for commuting and errands for most days. As an around town vehicle it is great. However, I discovered that a DC quickcharger can, when the battery temp is optimal and close to empty, give you a charge at up to 50KW per hour as stated by nissan up to about 80% full. In fact, it only took 18 minutes to put in 12 kwh in my leaf.

As there are many Nissan Dealers in the US and Nissan is actively marketing a Quick DC charger for $10,000.00, how come they don't install DC quick chargers at every dealer for their leafs. This would make the leaf attractive even to those individuals who feel that they need more than 73 miles in a day because they can fill up for a fraction of the time.

Whether it is free, subscription-based or fee per use, I think having DC Quickchargers at Nissan Dealers would be a convenience that would enhance Nissan's commitment to Electric vehicles.

Also, it would be in Nissan's best interest to promote their ChaDeMo standard as much as possible given the SAE has a standard that is set and backed by GM and other Big car companies. I am a huge fan of ChaDeMo, but if the new SAE standard becomes the norm, my 2012 Leaf will probably be the last Nissan EV I own.
 
agree with you 100%. i use QC all the time but usually only 10 minutes worth. i get a Kwh in 70-80 seconds when its charging the bottom 2/3rds of the pack. after that, the rate slows down quite a bit.
 
tranhv68 said:
Whether it is free, subscription-based or fee per use, I think having DC Quickchargers at Nissan Dealers would be a convenience that would enhance Nissan's commitment to Electric vehicles.

Free if you proudly display the dealer emblem or sticker, otherwise you pay a reasonable fee, about $10 or so. I think its a great sales promotion idea. The front desk controls the charger and keeps your keys until you are done. Your car may be used as a demo if you leave it there for too long.
 
I completely and totally agree with everything posted here. I cannot understand WHY Nissan has not put even a handful of their DC Quick Chargers at any dealerships in the US. They did it in Europe, and they have one at their North American HQ in Tennessee, but that's it. They wonder why the car isn't selling as well as they hoped...because most of the country lives outside "LEAFing distance" to a QC! Is Nissan afraid they're going to lose out to the Combo plug, so they aren't bothering here? The only way to gain a foothold in the marketplace is to get those chargers in the ground, stat.

(And yes, dealers aren't the ideal place to spend 30 minutes of my time. But it's better than not making the trip at all, or having to take a gas car. And yes, I'd pay for the privilege. I just expect to pay slightly less than a Mitsubishi i-MiEV driver.)
 
+1. Get them in the ground. Pretend this is Europe or Japan Nissan and install some demonstration chargers at dealers. The only reason I don't trade my Leaf in for the Rav4 EV is that it does not have a fast charge option. Fast charging is critical.

NYLEAF said:
I completely and totally agree with everything posted here. I cannot understand WHY Nissan has not put even a handful of their DC Quick Chargers at any dealerships in the US. They did it in Europe, and they have one at their North American HQ in Tennessee, but that's it. They wonder why the car isn't selling as well as they hoped...because most of the country lives outside "LEAFing distance" to a QC! Is Nissan afraid they're going to lose out to the Combo plug, so they aren't bothering here? The only way to gain a foothold in the marketplace is to get those chargers in the ground, stat.

(And yes, dealers aren't the ideal place to spend 30 minutes of my time. But it's better than not making the trip at all, or having to take a gas car. And yes, I'd pay for the privilege. I just expect to pay slightly less than a Mitsubishi i-MiEV driver.)
 
Nissan Leaf mechanic at Eastside just announced on Facebook that the dealership is installing a quick charge station. should be up and running within 2 weeks
 
You have to get into the head of a Nissan dealer. Most dealers have been around for at least a decade. Who the hell would have wanted to start a Nissan dealership a decade ago? The only thing I can imagine is that they did it with no thought or care and all they really care about is making a few bucks off of selling cars.
 
coolfilmaker said:
You have to get into the head of a Nissan dealer. Most dealers have been around for at least a decade. Who the hell would have wanted to start a Nissan dealership a decade ago? The only thing I can imagine is that they did it with no thought or care and all they really care about is making a few bucks off of selling cars.

The dealers aren't going to put in QC without pressure from Nissan. The dealers want to make money, just like any other business, and they want to do it by spending as little of their own money as possible. Very few dealers are going to understand (or care) that by investing in a QC, they could help themselves sell many Leafs, in addition to any revenue the QC itself brings in. Only Nissan North America would (hopefully) be able to see that point of view, and will hopefully apply the necessary pressure on the dealers to get the QCs in the ground.

Perhaps something similar to the recent promotion that Chevy did with its dealers in order to sell more Volts? For example, any Nissan dealer that installs the $15k Nissan-branded QC by December 31, 2012 can recoup up to $30k (to cover for the unit itself as well as installation costs) as credit towards 2013 inventory from Nissan NA. Therefore, the dealership essentially gets to install the QC for no cost to themselves, since they obviously were going to spend money on new vehicle inventory anyway, and by setting an end date, there's a sense of urgency to get them in the ground.
 
I think its a fully deductible business expense.. and practical for testing the cars you sell with the L3 charging port. Free gasoline for life! is a hell of a sales tool... probably not a good idea if the dealer pays $0.35 a kWh :)
 
Herm said:
I think its a fully deductible business expense.. and practical for testing the cars you sell with the L3 charging port. Free gasoline for life! is a hell of a sales tool... probably not a good idea if the dealer pays $0.35 a kWh :)

i think its a good idea, but as always subject to abuse so a limit of say X charge sessions per month is reasonable not including any service or sales related visit.

"take a test drive while your EV charges" Sales Events would be awesome
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Herm said:
I think its a fully deductible business expense.. and practical for testing the cars you sell with the L3 charging port. Free gasoline for life! is a hell of a sales tool... probably not a good idea if the dealer pays $0.35 a kWh :)

i think its a good idea, but as always subject to abuse so a limit of say X charge sessions per month is reasonable not including any service or sales related visit.

"take a test drive while your EV charges" Sales Events would be awesome

Fontana Nissan is a little ahead of you; they and Aerovironment held a DCQC event on September 1 & 2. I was very pleased to see and use the new Nissan QC and I like it much better than the Eaton/TEPCO QC unit. The Nissan unit is much more quiet and has a numerical SOC on the display.
IMG_20120901_092702.jpg
 
GotMyleaf said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
Herm said:
I think its a fully deductible business expense.. and practical for testing the cars you sell with the L3 charging port. Free gasoline for life! is a hell of a sales tool... probably not a good idea if the dealer pays $0.35 a kWh :)

i think its a good idea, but as always subject to abuse so a limit of say X charge sessions per month is reasonable not including any service or sales related visit.

"take a test drive while your EV charges" Sales Events would be awesome

Fontana Nissan is a little ahead of you; they and Aerovironment held a DCQC event on September 1 & 2. I was very pleased to see and use the new Nissan QC and I like it much better than the Eaton/TEPCO QC unit. The Nissan unit is much more quiet and has a numerical SOC on the display.
IMG_20120901_092702.jpg


that is a QC? awesome, i do like the compact nature of the beast!

and yes, Nissan should have put QC's in all their dealerships just so people can really understand how cool it really is to get 40 miles of range in 11 minutes!!
 
Well, then I am not that impressed with Fontana Nissan since they did not make the decision to make a permanent installation of Nissan's QC.
 
As I was discussing the difference between SL and SV with my delaer, going through the brochure point by point, when I saw the SL had a quick charge port and the SV didn't, he said that was wrong, neither had it.

I came here and learned the truth and bought the SL.

IF they had a free QC station it could help with the upsell to SL. But they would have to understand it first.
 
Maybe your salesperson was confused by the difference between the 2011 and the 2012. On the 2011, the SL didn't necessarily have a QC. But, the SV could not have the QC. The QC was an option only available on the SL. On the 2012, the QC comes standard on the SL, and is still not available on the SV. I personally think the QC should be standard on all models (and, as I've stated countless times, I think most Nissan dealers should have a QC available!)
 
Well, Tesla just announced their network of DC Superchargers able to deliver 95kW per hour vs. 50kW per hour for the Leaf. What is even more amazing is that Elon Musk has set a new standard for other electric car manufacturers to rise to - FREE FOREVER quick charging for all model S and probably all teslas.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/tesla-supercharger/#continued" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's only a matter of time before they come out with a smaller maybe lower range tesla that will compete with the Leaf and the Volt in the 38K-40K range. I imagine it will be at least 100 USABLE miles. Their superchargers are not the ChaDeMo or SAE GM standard. They don't have to be. If Nissan does not add quick chargers to their dealerships they will surely miss an opportunity to maintain their sales momentum. They've got 38000 Leafs on the road. I am one of them. I am also getting a model s and a model x and probably the next model that tesla makes. Unless Nissan gives me a compelling reason to keep my leaf or trade it in for another one, this is probably the last nissan electric car I buy.
 
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