Nissan Claims it Will Have Leaf Shortage Immediately

The Nissan Leaf won’t go on sale until later this year, but Nissan already predicts a shortage of the all-electric vehicles within three months of it hitting the market.

The automaker says it already has 7,000 pre-orders in the United States and another 4,000 in Japan, with pre-orders in the United Kingdom set to begin in July. All told, Nissan expects demand for the first mass-market all-electric car to outstrip supply in a relatively short time.

From a PR perspective, just putting this information out there is a good move. After all, what makes consumers want a product more than knowing there is not enough of it to go around? It’s the Tickle Me Elmo theory of creating buzz.

However, Nissan must also control expectations of what an electric car can do. Hence, if you sign up for a Leaf, you’ll be asked how far you drive each day. Nissan’s chairman of the Americas told Automotive News that dealers may redirect customers to other vehicles if their driving needs or living situations would make owning an all-electric vehicle a burden.

Nissan Predicts Shortage of Leafs (Whatcar.com)

Comments

so, point blankly, there asking if the customer is stupid or not? lol

I wonder how many of those people will be lining up after they start reading news reports about Leaf owners being stranded once the battery runs down. Nothing that can easily be fixed by a jumpstart or a jerrycan, either. Volt or plug-in hybrids are much better solutions for the real world.

@ Skinner,

R u one interested in purchasing the LEAF, or in fact, paid attention to LEAF's announcement? 'coz if u did, u wouldn't be asking that question!

Those who are interested in LEAF have gone thru' the pros and cons of this vehicle, and as Nissan has stated (with those buying it / intending to use it), this will be a daily commute vehicle, not a vehicle for family trip or cross country events.

It's like, u r putting u boot up ur own butt when u asked the question, 'coz the flip side of the same question is, "I wonder how many of those people will be stranded...when they realize that Volt or plug-in hybrids need gas and electricity in order for them to run, and the owners just let them run completely dry (no gas) using battery power alone..."

Shortage because they'll go to the crusher like the rest of the japanese cars do once the warranty expires.

The Volt, like all GM vehicles last forever and will run hundreds of thousands of miles without ever having a single defect.

Imports are unamerican. Buy American. Buy GM. it is your patriotic obligation.

I hope the Leaf is a blockbuster hit for Nissan. If so it will blaze the trail, so to speak. Other carmakers will introduce electric only cars, and a new auto segment will be created. An all electric car would be ideal for my daily needs in suburbia, USA. And keep a backup ICE vehicle for weekend drives and roadtrips. I like the Leaf's styling, but sadly, this car is not for me because I never pay more than $5000 for a vehicle.

Yea well see how many of these people really pony up the 35k for this hideious egg

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