BBrockman said:
Q. Why is there no outright price for a swap?
A. There are two main reasons we decided against releasing an outright battery price: 1. Customer research steered us a different direction; and 2. the evolving costs of batteries over time make it impractical to do so.
Weighing feedback from current and potential owners, we found that most favored a monthly payment approach and wanted to have ongoing assurance on the health of the battery. This approach provides the best balance of cost to the owner and increased receptivity among potential future buyers.
Q. Can I exit the battery program and keep my car in a functional state with a battery that I own?
A. We understand this sentiment and are investigating as we finalize the program. We are open to constructive suggestions and dialogue. Based on suggestions here and in other places, we are also evaluating mileage and capacity options to lend a degree of flexibility to this program.
Finally, we are very proud of LEAF, and are committed to supporting you, our customers. We take your feedback seriously.
thank you for posting. i love my LEAF and plan to keep it for as long as possible.
that said, I constructively criticize and dissent.
you are ignoring the part of your market that BUYS cars, doesnt lease them.
people such as myself would never have bought the car, if you had told us what you are telling us now. this is bait and switch, and will lead to a bad outcome for all in terms of publicity, marketing and worse.
we would love to see data from this survey that you keep citing. it seems to me that you are listening only to the future and past market potential of leasees. if you want to market a lease-only product or a lease-only battery you need to do that from the start, not surprise and then ignore people who have invested in your product.
this is bad customer relations and will only lead to very bad word of mouth.
evolving cost of battery problem is solved the same way you have solved the heat-battery development issue -- with a coupon or a credit.
or you could vary the value of the return pack so that the pricing is even over time.
moreover, if you continue down the road of not offering for sale the most expensive part of the car, what do you propose to do about resale of a car that comes with a battery owned by nissan and a perpetual lease?
surely, you see that as a problem for buyers that you must resolve????
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and what FairwoodRed said about TaylorSFGuy.
i have all my bars at -- 29k and 28 months, but there is every indication that one is about to go.
range loss is not crippling for my commute, but is a major issue for some other uses.