Nissan Sells 100,000 LEAFs, Captures 48% Of Worldwide Electric Vehicle Market

Yes, because despite all of our pre-ordered Leafs supposed to be showing up in December of '10, they were late (granted, they had a tsunami, but that wasn't the only reason). And as far as I know, Nissan was the only one shipping battery cars.

http://www.teslamotors.com/about/press/releases/tesla-motors...

Still, I actually test drove a Leaf a while back, nifty car, and I applaud Nissan for doing what they are doing. Amongst the snooze fest that is the Japanese auto industry these days, Nissan definitely has some of the most interesting line ups, from affordable, super car performance (GT-R) to pure electric city commuter (Leaf).

I would say that when cars like the Leaf, the sub 100 mile range club, get under twenty thousand after the government rebate then sales should really take off. I have no problem subsidizing the purchase of a reasonably priced electric like the Leaf or even as a stretch the i3 but once you pass into luxury pricing those people don't need the payout from the public

Maybe Nissan did understand that, which is how we ended up with the Leaf. You spend $32K on a car that's saving polar bears, you want the world to know it. How am I supposed to feel smug if I'm driving something that looks like a Nissan Versa?

Contrast that to the Tesla Model S, which IMO is kind of bland (though I'd still buy one if we didn't have the Leaf). A buddy of mine recently said he hadn't seen a Tesla. In Redmond, WA? I guarantee that he saw at least one or two on his way to work at Microsoft that morning. But if one isn't in to cars much, a Model S isn't really going to stand out.

People who buy alternative vehicles seem to cue in to "different" designs though. I always think of the 90's Prius vs. the 2000's Prius. The first Prius looked like an ordinary car; footnote in history. Most people don't even know it existed. The second looks distinct and a little weird; smash hit.

On the bright side it doesn't catch on fire. </snark> Keeping aside the snark, it doesn't look that bad. The low price tag and the comparable look of Prius makes up for it. I think Nissan and Telsa are competing on different demograph within the same market. Nissan is going after people who think of cars as a utility and are looking to save some $$ on their daily gas expenditure. While Tesla is going after the people who prefer luxury, style and trend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8

Visiting my parents in Lakeland, FL for a week? I saw one parked in a guy's garage in their neighborhood, that's it. I'll see a half dozen Leaf's just on an eight mile drive to work on any given day. So it seems it could be geographically specific.

Nissan LEAF launched in the United States in December 2010. The United States accounts for nearly half of the sales worldwide. The pace of LEAF sales has continued to accelerate. In 2013, Nissan sold 22,610 of the electric vehicles in the United States, more than twice as many as in 2012 and more than 2012 and 2011 Leaf sales combined.

Nissan LEAF traditionally has performed well on the West Coast with notable markets such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, but now interest has expanded across the country. New hot markets have emerged such as Atlanta, which has been the No. 1 LEAF market for the past five months.

EDIT: Note that many Americans can only afford one car at a time.

There is no such thing as decreasing gas prices.