To Boost Sagging Sales, Nissan Will Sell a Cheaper Leaf

Back in October we asked if a budget-priced Nissan Leaf could spur stagnant EV sales. The Japanese automaker seems to be wondering the same. Today it announced the 2013 Nissan Leaf S, a "lower-priced entry-level" EV aimed at drivers turned off by the SL and SV models and their steep $36,050 entry price.

While the company has yet to release specifics on pricing, Nissan says that it could but the Leaf's cost by shifting production to it's Smyrna, Tenn.-based manufacturing facility?just miles from its new lithium-ion battery plant?through efficient material use, and simply by including fewer standard features.

The same kind of price-slashing tactics seems to be working for Chevrolet. After the U.S. automaker cut the Chevy Volt's MSRP by $10,000, sales jumped to 23,461 by the end of 2012?a 205 percent increase over 2011. Nissan sold only 9819 EVs in 2012, barely more than the previous year and way short of its year-end target of 20,000.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/nissan-will-sell-a-cheaper-leaf-14958789?src=rss

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