Will the charger be optional or mandatory?

I keep seeing all of this mention of having an electrician come to the home to install a charger. Will this be required? I was under the impression the leaf could charge from a regular 110V electrical outlet. I realize the expensive charger would allow it to recharge faster, but I really don't need that.

I currently drive an electric vehicle and already have a 20-amp socket on the wall just where I need it. But because I drive only about 10 miles a day, it really doesn't take very long to recharge the car from such short trips. So I figure when I get my Leaf, I should also be able to get by with 110V outlet, even if it takes a little longer to charge. Even if I decided to make a cross-town trip, I would still think by the next day I should be charged up plenty for my short commute to work.

For your described usage, the "slow" (120v) charger should be fine, where the 18 (or so) hours for a "full" charge should rarely be needed.

It does not appear that one, in general, is required to buy the 240v charger.

However, in deciding who gets the first Leafs in any "supported" region, there COULD be other selection criterion, who knows?

Might a person who expects to use the Leaf "too little" (or "too much") be put at a lower priority?
Or, one who has the faster charger installed put at a high priority?
Could be, but this would likely only affect the first (few?) months of sales.

I disagree. My reading of the application process and materials is that you can't buy the car unless you buy the charger - or maybe if you lease they'll let you rent the charger.

That was my impression as well. In fact, unprompted, my conversation at the dealer reinforced this. The Sales Manager brought this up in the first minute or two of conversation.

Perhaps for participation in the initial test group, the EVSE is required, but I belive it is an optional accessory for "regular" buyers.

Rat said:

I disagree. My reading of the application process and materials is that you can't buy the car unless you buy the charger - or maybe if you lease they'll let you rent the charger.

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That is ONLY if you aren't part of the EV Project (which is separate from Nissan), which I plan to be. Therefore, Nissan will NOT get any extra money from me for a charging station, whether I buy or lease.

I will buy the 240v EVSE if they will install it as a portable plug-in.

If not, I would "go shopping" for one that IS legal to use "plug-in", if at all allowed.

garygid said:

Might a person who expects to use the Leaf "too little" (or "too much") be put at a lower priority?

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EV project is looking for people in varied circumstances. They want to study various representative usages. Something like what pollsters do.