Nissan Leaf Battery Warranty: 8 Years or 100,000 Miles

Talk about a twist... A week after American manufacturer GM dropped the bomb and announced an 8 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 km) warranty for the battery of its Volt PHEV, Japanese manufacturer Nissan finally made up its mind and announced the exact same warranty for the battery of its Leaf electric vehicle. And, truth be told, it couldn't have happened any other way.

The Nissan Leaf will be introduced towards the end of the year and in early 2010 in pretty much the same markets as the Volt: Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama.

The Japanese carmaker announced together with the warranty that it has managed to secure 17,000 orders for the Leaf, placing the model a few good steps in front of GM's Volt, for which the American manufacturer begins taking orders this week.

"We are pleased to see so many people making a choice for a zero-emission future by placing reservations for the Nissan Leaf," Brian Carolin, Nissan Sales and Marketing vice president said in a statement.

"Consumer feedback and market readiness have been key drivers in developing our phased rollout. Nissan is able to target areas of customer demand for early launch, while continuing to work in future markets to ensure the continued success of electric vehicles."

Now that pretty much all the info required for a future buyer have been made public, this is how the current electric vehicle market stands:

Chevrolet Volt:

• price: $33,500 ($7,500 federal tax credit included)
• lease: $350 a month/$2,500 down payment
• battery warranty: 8 years/100,000 miles
• range: 340 miles (547 km, based on GM estimates)

Nissan Leaf

• price: $25,280 ($7,500 federal tax credit included)
• lease: $349 a month/$1,999 down payment
• battery warranty: 8 years/100,000 miles
• range: 100 miles (160 km, based on US EPA LA4 City cycle)