As gasoline prices continue to plunge, so do the sales of expensive, taxpayer-subsidized EVs.
Nissan has added three more markets to its “No Charge to Charge” promotion in an attempt to add some sales in the collapsing EV market. LEAF Buyers in New York, Philadelphia and Santa Barbara can get two years of complimentary public charging with the purchase of the all-electric car.
Nissan LEAF EV sales during 2015 of 17,000 declined -43% year-over year when the overall light vehicle market grew almost 6% in the U.S.
With more than 200,000 global sales and more than 89,000 in the U.S., Nissan LEAF remains the world’s best-selling electric car even if it is a mere footnote in sales charts. The 2016 Nissan LEAF has a starting price of $22,360 after a taxpayer-subsidized federal tax credit of $7,500 for the SV model, and $30,040 for LEAF SL after the taxpayer subsidy. Both the SV and SL models have an EPA-rated range of 107 miles on a single charge based on an EPA formula of 33.7 kW/hour is equal to one gallon of gasoline energy.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
