Nissan Leaf EV Pricing Before Incentives Said To Be Equivalent of $40,000 in Japan

Nissan Leaf EV Pricing Before Incentives Said To Be Equivalent of $40,000 in Japan

By John O'Dell March 17, 2010

Although company executives have repeatedly suggested that the price of the upcoming 2011 Nissan Leaf EV (right) in the U.S. market will be comparable to a loaded Honda Civic, plus its annual fuel bill, the company may be positioning the car a bit higher in the economic strata at home.

Nissan isn't commenting yet on Leaf pricing, but a report in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper today says Nissan plans to price the Japanese market model at just below 4 million yen.

While that's less than Mitsubishi charges in Japan for its smaller and less capable i-MiEV city EV, it's still the equivalent of $40,000 at present currency exchange rates, and that's apparently before the monthly cost of leasing the batteries.

(Nissan has said that to keep the purchase price as low as possible it would sell the car but lease the batteries separately in most of the world, although it plans to sell or lease car and battery as a package in the U.S.)

Japanese government subsidies would bring the real cost down to around 3 million yen - equivalent to $33,000.

We certainly hope the reported Japanese pricing, if accurate, isn't an indication of what we can expect here.

Car prices typically are higher in Japan than in the U.S., but if the Leaf - a five-passenger compact hatchback - comes to market at close to $40,000 here, even if that includes the batteries and is before a number of sizable federal and local incentives knock down the total out-of-pocket cost  - its going to be a hard sell once the early adopters have rushed in to get theirs.   

A $7,500 federal tax credit would bring the real cost of a $40,000 Leaf down to $32,500 - but people who can't pay cash would still have to finance and make payments based on the full $40,000. And that would put the Leaf into luxury car territory and out of the reach of most U.S. car buyers.  A Honda Civic hybrid with the top-of-line leather and navigation system package is $13,000 less.

We know that new technologies come with a price premium, but are really hoping that Nissan has committed to the idea that to make EVs more than curiosities, they are going to have to be priced so that middle-class America can afford them.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.