The Nissan Leaf is renowned for its pleasurable and entertaining driving experience, comforting safety features, and outstanding environmental credentials.
If you’ve been considering purchasing a used Nissan Leaf, you might be wondering why they appear to be so much less expensive than comparable electric vehicles.
Due to a subpar battery design and antiquated technology that can’t compete with more modern EVs, used Nissan Leafs are so inexpensive. Furthermore, Nissan Leafs lose up to 70% of their value in just 5 years of ownership.
Continue reading to learn if buying a used Nissan Leaf is worthwhile and how it stacks up against other vehicles in its category.
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Batteries degrading
More importantly, old Nissan Leafs are particularly inexpensive since they have a bad reputation for having small, unstable batteries, which reduces their electric range. A Nissan Leaf from 2012 had a meager range of roughly 80 miles, even when it was brand-new. This figure indicates that, except from commuting, running kids to and from school, and grocery shopping, the Leaf is not very capable when compared to an equivalent gasoline car. Buyer complaints that the batteries lost capacity with time, particularly the early model years, and very fast made this problem much more serious.
You should be aware that every electric vehicle (EV) now on the road is powered by a lithium-ion battery, and that every one of them has a “battery temperature management system” to regulate the battery’s temperature. With the exception of Nissan, this is how the manufacturers always operate.
Extreme hot and cold temperatures are known to have a negative impact on a car battery’s performance and lifespan. At about 70 °F, a lithium-ion battery operates at its finest (21-degree Celsius).
While some automakers employ air-cooled batteries, some, like Tesla, use liquid-cooled batteries. In cases when it is necessary, a heater is also utilized to get the battery temperature up to where it is best for operation.
Even though all batteries eventually degrade, the Nissan Leaf has no active battery cooling system, which is an issue. Nissan continues to firmly believe that heat produced while operating and charging the vehicle will naturally evaporate into the surrounding air. Therefore, the Leaf’s battery has no means of defense against extremely high or low temperatures, as well as sudden changes in weather.
As a result, compared to all of its rivals, the Nissan Leaf’s battery loses capacity far more quickly over time. Additionally, you would eventually run out of range due to the quick battery degeneration. After 6-7 years with the original battery, this will render the Leaf useless. The battery would need to be changed, but it is not inexpensive.
A Nissan Leaf’s battery replacement cost roughly $5,500 a few years ago, which was reasonable. The price to replace the batteries in a Nissan Leaf is currently $8,500, including labor, due to a price increase by Nissan. This much money should not be spent on a used car. In other words, you have to gamble with the battery’s performance, and the Nissan Leaf isn’t really a low maintenance car when you factor in the price of a new battery.
Budget Nissan Leaf Motive 1: Subsidy
Sales of the Nissan Leaf were significantly boosted by a variety of financial incentives that made them more accessible to customers. EVs are still significantly more expensive than gas-powered vehicles. Why purchase a Nissan Leaf in 2011 for $34,000 when the Honda Accord is available for over $10,000 less? After 80 miles, the Accord wouldn’t shut off on you either. In actuality, hardly any Nissan Leaf owners paid the full retail price.
In addition to low-cost leases and rebate deals, automobile owners who paid cash could also benefit from a $7,500 federal tax credit. This brought the cost of the leaf down to around $30,000, even for those who were only eligible for a portion of the $7,500 cap. Since the cars were purchased at a low cost, the depreciation isn’t as severe as it looks to be on the price tag.
Since its introduction in the 2011 model year, the Nissan Leaf has sold 500,000 vehicles worldwide, with 148,000 of those going to customers in the US. When there were so many incentives, is it surprising that it was the model with the highest sales in 2011 and 2014? Nissan wasn’t the only company to rejoice over these fictitious increases in sales. Tesla, of course, had pleasure in the sale of hundreds of thousands of its own vehicles, especially the Model 3, which was the most popular model. As a result, the market has a flooding effect, which once more pushes down the price of used Nissan Leaf vehicles.
Why are used Nissan Leafs so affordable?
I therefore need a new automobile and would prefer an electric model, but I have limited funds. I was considering the Nissan Leaf and was taken aback by the price. Why are Nissan Leafs so reasonably priced?
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You’re right that making the switch to an electric vehicle is exciting.
Compared to other electric vehicles, the Nissan Leaf is significantly less expensive. Why, you inquire? Even though they are generally good automobiles, the Nissan Leaf doesn’t have the best reputation. Low battery range, depreciation, government subsidies, old technology, and a plain design are a few of the elements that contribute to the Leaf’s low pricing.
- Low battery range: The battery range on a new Leaf is just 80 to 100 miles per charge, and on a used Leaf, this decreases to about 50 miles per charge. Although the Leafas battery is less expensive to produce, its compact size means that it has significantly less power than other electric cars.
- Depreciation: The Leaf depreciates less frequently than the majority of other electric vehicles, which means it does so more slowly than more expensive vehicles. For instance, a Tesla typically depreciates by 20% over the first year of ownership.
- Government subsidies: Depending on the state you live in, there are a number of government subsidies and incentives available when buying a Leaf. These benefits lower the cost of purchasing the Leaf and enable quicker loan repayment.
- The Leaf may be inexpensive to purchase, but its technology hasn’t advanced much since it initially rolled off the assembly line in 2010, especially in comparison to the technological arms race being fought by other electric car manufacturers.
- Design: The Leaf isn’t a bad-looking car, but it isn’t sweeping up design accolades either. This may have contributed to the model’s poor sales and the subsequent price reductions.
Depending on your financial situation, a Nissan Leaf can be the ideal vehicle for you. Whatever you decide, make sure to use Jerry to find a strong auto insurance policy to cover your car.
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What number of Nissan Leaf vehicles have been sold?
The Nissan Leaf, a forerunner in the field of electric vehicles and one of the least expensive models now available, is nearing the end of its useful life. Nissan reportedly has no plans to release a next-generation Leaf model and may even stop making the moniker altogether, according to an article in Automotive News.
According to the site, which cited three unnamed sources, production of the current Leaf model is expected to cease by the middle of this decade. A Nissan representative refrained from making predictions about the Leaf’s future but did add that the company has seen “renewed” interest in the Leaf amid the strong market for EVs.
The Nissan Leaf would be the most recent diminutive car to succumb to American car purchasers’ insatiable thirst for enormous, towering, climate-destroying trucks and SUVs if Nissan follows through on its intention to abandon the model. Currently, Nissan only offers the Leaf for sale in the US, but later this year, the company will introduce the Ariya, a new electric crossover SUV with a 300-mile range.
Notably, the Ariya costs more than the Leaf; it starts at about $47,000 as opposed to the 2022 Leaf’s $27,400 beginning price. However, despite the affordable price, the Leaf never really took off. Nissan has only sold about 170,000 Leaf EVs in the US during the past ten years since the vehicle was first marketed. When compared to the entire amount of Tesla vehicles sold in the US in just 2022 (564,743), it is clear that Nissan is facing some challenges. (According to the automaker, 500,000 Leafs have been sold worldwide since the model’s debut in 2010).
Recently, the manufacturer disclosed its aim to invest 2 trillion yen (about $17.6 billion USD) over the following five years to hasten the adoption of electric vehicles. By 2030, 23 new electrified vehicles will be added to the market, 15 of which will be all-electric. By the end of the decade, the corporation wants its Nissan and Infiniti brands to have a 50% electrification mix. Nissan intends to go more slowly in the US, with an EV sales share goal of just 40% by 2040.
Nissan’s designs suggest that a small SUV it is dubbing the Chill-Out could eventually take the place of the Leaf. The Chill-Out appears to be the most close to production of all Nissan’s concepts, despite the fact that the firm hasn’t provided any specs or information about it. It has a comparable appearance to the Ariya but runs on the smaller CMF-EV platform, which means it will probably cost a little less than the $47,000 Ariya.
Whatever happens to it, the Leaf will unquestionably be remembered as the country’s first commercially successful mass-market EV. Elon Musk’s company deserves some credit for pushing the rest of the car industry in that direction, but Tesla frequently gets all the credit for helping to start the race to electrification. But there is no denying Nissan’s contribution to the move toward zero tailpipe emissions.
July 14th, 4:08 PM ET, Update: Added a statement from a Nissan spokesman in the update.
Are sales of the Nissan Leaf strong?
The Leaf was a ground-breaking electric vehicle when it initially debuted more than ten years ago, but it has never been a major seller and it will soon be extinct.
- The Nissan Leaf, which debuted for the 2011 model year, was the first contemporary, mass-produced electric vehicle to enter the American market.
- According to reports, manufacture of the Leaf would gradually end around the middle of the decade.
- Even if the Leaf’s era is coming to an end, Nissan predicts that by 2030, EVs will account for 40% of its U.S. sales.
Even while we think some cars will last forever, none of them will (see Porsche 911). There appears to be another vehicle whose date with the gallows pole is approaching. According to Automotive News, Nissan will phase out the Leaf over the course of the following several years even as it introduces a new lineup of electric vehicles, beginning with the Ariya.
The Nissan Leaf was the first contemporary, mass-produced electric car to hit the market in the United States when it debuted for the 2011 model year. It was affordable, had unique style, and offered a fascinating glimpse into the development of electric vehicles. The problem was that it didn’t do well in sales. Less than 175,000 Leafs have been sold despite the fact that it has been a part of Nissan’s U.S. portfolio for the past 12 years.
The Leaf has garnered a variety of opinions. While some people thought the styling was cute, others were less kind. No of how you feel about the Leaf, you would dismiss its history if you said it was unimportant. The Leaf was a serious foray into the uncharted territory of living with an electric automobile in the modern day, despite its underwhelming sales figures. It was released not long after the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and more than a year before Elon Musk and the Tesla Model S stormed the scene.
Our enthusiasm for the Leaf has been restrained by its uninspiring driving style and limited range, which has probably prevented it from benefiting from the booming interest in EVs. The 2022 Leaf delivers 226 projected miles in its larger battery and 149 in the base version, but high-end EVs can already reach 400 and even 500 miles of range.
Even though Nissan’s investment on the Leaf didn’t truly pay off, we’d do well to recognize its contribution to popularizing electric cars in America as the car enters its final years.
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