Fresh off its best sales month every in March and a huge 423.5 percent year-over-year sales increase in April, the Nissan Leaf has passed the 25,000 sales threshold in the US. A combination of factors, including a $6,000 price chop in January, have helped the Leaf become the world’s best selling electric vehicle.
The January price reduction on the Nissan Leaf brought it down to a very affordable $28,000 but, depending on where you live, that number could fall as low as $18,800 due to a variety of tax credits. This has kept the Leaf’s sales growing, which isn’t the case for all electric vehicles. Chevy Volt, with it’s $40,000 price tag, saw its sales decline 12% year-to-year for the month of April.
The Nissan Leaf has also managed to expand its foothold from the West Coast markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle where it traditionally performs very well into other areas of the country. Sales are now strong in places like Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas as more and more buyers are willing to consider electric vehicles.
In addition to price reductions, Nissan has focused on expanding the charging infrastructure in the US which can be a major obstacle to those considering electric. If you can’t charge it, then no matter how attractive the car, you simply can’t buy one.
Earlier this year Nissan announced its plans to triple the number of quick chargers from 200 to 600. Nissan and their partners have already installed 50 of those units, focusing on areas where interest in electric vehicles and the Leaf are highest.
Their focus on infrastructure includes more than just installing charging stations on their own, but aims to partner with businesses to facilitate workplace charging. They’re also looking to see just what part dealerships should play in the process with an end goal of giving consumers plenty of options that make owning a Nissan Leaf that much more attractive.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
