Nissan Leaf sales top 15,000 vs Chevy Volt sales of 4,000

[txlibdem]

And Chevy is canceling plans to add a 2nd shift for production of more Volts.

Oh, and the best news: starting in December 2012 the Nissan Leaf will be made in Tennessee, starting with the 2013 year model Leaf.

Ref:
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/10/gm-not-adding-second-shift-at-chevy-volt-plant-keep-production-target/
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/10/nissan-leaf-sales-eclipse-15-000/
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/10/08/first-2013-nissan-leaf-tennessee-december-2012/

[TheWraith]

1. I'd like to know the average sales of conventional cars at both those price ranges.

That would tell us a lot more than raw sales numbers.

I write about mobile technology for a living, and one of the pieces of information I picked up years back is that a device at $300 sells twice as many units, on average, as one at $400. That's just the expected way, since fewer people will spring $400 even if it's got extra features.

[txlibdem]

2. It's true that the early adopters are paying a higher price than buyers 10 years from now will

But that is the psychology of an early adopter. If they have the available cash and like the thing they are considering purchasing then a little extra payment will not sway their decision. For the average consumer, you are right on the money (if you'll pardon the pun).

The one factor you are forgetting is that as a product sells more and achieves maturity the average cost of manufacturing will always go down. It's called the economies of scale.

Remember the first VCR that went on the market? I do. It was $5,000 in a specialty stereo store window. I didn't even enter the store. The same thing happened with the DVD, the PS3, the Model T, toasters, etc.

Electric cars will come down in price as more of them are on the road. Right now there are only a limited number of public chargers and I believe that some people are worried about the range issue a whole lot more than they should be. In time the charger network will grow and the public confidence will increase from seeing more electric cars on the road.

[dmallind]

3. Do conventional cars have wait lists for two years?

Nissan could sell more than twice that number just from reservations. Supply is the limiting factor, not demand.

[txlibdem]

4. That does prove that demand for the Leaf is high.

But don't fret, as in the OP, the Leaf factory in Tennessee (Smyrna I believe) will begin producing Nissan Leafs in December 2012 if not sooner and it will eventually be producing 200,000 Leafs per year. With production figures like that I don't think you'll have to worry about demand being so much higher than supply for too much longer.

[wtmusic]

5. Not surprised.

The Leaf is a great car. Silent, clean, fast. My wife calls it "the magic carpet".

Carlos Ghosn is a visionary, and his bet will pay off big time.

[kristopher]

6. Chevy to produce all electric "Spark"

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=gm-to-produce-all-electric-chevy-spark