Nissan Surveying Buyers on Leaf Battery Warranty

Last week, American manufacturer GM shocked the automotive world by announcing a 8-year or 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty for the battery it will fit into the Chevrolet Volt. Aside for the fact that this is the most extensive and comprehensive warranty available on the market, it will most surely set a new standard for the competition, a standard which will have to be reached if any given carmaker wants to make good on its EVs and PHEVs.

The announcement was not left unanswered by Nissan, the manufacturer of the main competitor for the Volt when it comes to battery warranty. According to The New York Times, GM's announcement forced Nissan into conducting a survey of the customers who have already ordered a Leaf.

Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary says Nissan sent the survey to 16,000 of its customers. The main question in the survey? “If Nissan announced the standard warranty for the Nissan Leaf battery was five years/60,000 miles, to what degree would you seriously consider purchasing or leasing the Nissan Leaf as your next vehicle?”

Unfortunately, the results of the survey are not yet known, but word has already begun spreading that should Nissan offer a five years/60,000 miles, the Leaf would lose much of its appeal.

Nissan says it will announce the warranty for the Leaf battery sometime in August, when the carmaker begins taking orders for the model. Although the aforementioned warranty sounds pretty good when taken by itself, it pales in comparison with GM's offering. It is to be expected Nissan will offer a bit more than that.