Future of Plug in Electric Vehicles Nissan Leaf
Americans are going to need to find a small piece of their hearts to love hatchbacks. The next vehicle coming out of Nissan is going to be an all electric small hatch that is likely going to revolutionize the automobile industry. If the Nissan Leaf will indeed come in under $30,000, it will be be the first plug-in electric vehicle to be classified as affordable.
This car will likely come with a price tag somewhere under $30,000. This is great news, because every manufacturer is going to speed up research and design to bring out their version of a 100 mile, zero emission plug in electric vehicle. As the market becomes flooded with these cars there will be a much improved infrastructure for speedy battery charging. We will also begin to see smaller price tags as R & D plays a smaller role in the vehicles cost.
Look for the Nissan Leaf to use a lithium-manganese Ion battery for their power source. This will provide a large shelf life, so you wont see quick discharges. Nissan claims that the range for most drivers will be 100 miles. This will take some getting used to as we expect to drive for a at the very least several days before refueling. I do expect it will suffice for most of our daily commutes though. I am sure that we all can get used to plugging the vehicle in every night if we can forgo visiting the gas station.
An infrastructure is going to have to be built up relatively quickly. Higher voltage and amperage amounts will need to come out of our homes for charging times to be practical. A typical wall outlet produces 120 volts of potential electricity. Using these outlets will require most of the day to charge. Look for a 220 volt power source to require 8 hours of charging. There will be quick charge stations that can give you an 80% charge in less than thirty minutes. The infrastructure is going lag behind the vehicle. That is going to be reason enough for many buyers to stick with gasoline or diesel unfortunately.
Another obvious concern is that the energy bill will rise significantly. This is not necessarily true. Nissan says a charge will cost roughly 90 cents during off-peak hours. I suppose if you charge every other night to every night, you are going to see a $15-$30 increase in your monthly energy bill. Equate that to the cost of a tank of petroleum based fuel every week. There is an obvious saving of money.
Assuming the Nissan Leaf will be well received, we are going to see a ramping up in R&D from other manufacturers. The market will be flooded with small electric vehicles. Fortunately for us, competition and reduced cost of R&D will reduce the price tag eventually. The Leaf is going to be vehicle we need to speed up production and bring the future here sooner than later.
