Photo: Nissan
The Nissan Leaf is only the second production all-electric vehicle to be sold in Australia. First off, the Australian press release talks about the car’s range and limitations straight off the bat: “A full charge delivers a potential range of 170 kilometres (NEDC), a distance which will satisfy the daily driving demands of a clear majority of customers. Global research indicates that the average daily mileage for 80 percent of the world’s population is under 100 kilometres: the figure in Japan and the UK is under 50 kilometres for 80 percent of the population”.
Also, despite the car arriving considerably late on the Australian market, while also carrying a premium of 20 - 40% over their home markets, the Leaf is still eagerly anticipated and interest for the car is very high. It is a considerably more grown-up car than the other EV sold in Aussie, the Mitsubishi i-Miev. So, what does this 20 - 40% bump in price mean for teh Australian Leaf buyer? Well, the car is available for purchase at $51,500 AUD ($51,910), which is considerably more expensive than what US buyers are required to pay for a Leaf (as little as $27,700, after the $7,500 federal tax credit has been deducted).
It is strange how a forward-thinking country like Australia is imposing these premiums on EVs - it’s as if they don’t really want to have them there, for some reason. Further bad news for buyers is the fact that a similar premium to that of the car is also added to the price of the quick charging gear. And the bad news doesn’t end here, with electricity rates in Australia expected to rise by around 10%, due to the introduction of aEV friendly carbon tax on electricity - as if people aren’t already paying enough.
It is strange how a forward-thinking country like Australia is imposing these premiums on EVs - it’s as if they don’t really want to have them there, for some reason. Further bad news for buyers is the fact that a similar premium to that of the car is also added to the price of the quick charging gear. And the bad news doesn’t end here, with electricity rates in Australia expected to rise by around 10%, due to the introduction of a
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