Nissan is talking to Tesla owners

"BJ" (benjamin-bignell) 02/25/2014 at 10:21 • Filed to: nissan leaf, tesla model s, electric car

0

10

Apparently, Nissan has been getting in touch with Tesla owners and doing a bit of market research. The big question is: are they trying to find better ways to sell the Leaf, or are they looking to introduce a new model to compete with the Model S?

Details on Green Car Reports: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Jagvar > BJ 02/25/2014 at 10:28

1

I'm trying to think which Nissan model would compete with a Tesla Model S. An all-electric Infiniti M...er, Q70?

Grindintosecond > BJ 02/25/2014 at 10:31

0

I commute to work. I drive 100 miles round trip. I drive 45-50, car sits for a few days at the airport, then i drive back. that's all i need. If the leaf could do 100 miles reliably, I would VERY strongly consider one. It's nice driving a mazda3 to work, nothing beats the handling and sounds of that second gear going all the way to 60, but it's all highway driving and no fun curves...so I only need the leaf...if it could do the range that is.

BJ > Jagvar 02/25/2014 at 10:31

0

Well, the article references a handsome Infiniti concept car that's apparently on ice, so I'm guessing they don't know which way to turn... Build a Tesla competitor, or just improve the overall quality and appeal of the Leaf?

CKeffer > BJ 02/25/2014 at 10:40

0

Here's an idea for how to sell the Leaf; Make it NOT ugly! Make it look like a car that folks other than the hardcore anti ICE crowd will look at and think "I could see myself driving that!" Doing that will drastically improve sales figures, improving the way it drives will likely do so even more, but that will likely start affecting the production costs so it's unlikely.

deekster_caddy > BJ 02/25/2014 at 10:45

0

Hmm. I got a survey request from I think plugincars.com just yesterday. The first question was "do you drive a Nissan leaf?" I answered No. Then I got "This survey is only for drivers of the Nissan Leaf. Thanks for your participation." -END.

So somebody is out there asking questions!

BJ > deekster_caddy 02/25/2014 at 10:48

0

The Model S is the current gold standard for electric cars and I don't doubt that the new "affordable" model they have been talking about will be a success. If you're serious about making electric vehicles, it would be foolish to not talk to Tesla buyers.

deekster_caddy > BJ 02/25/2014 at 10:49

0

Absolutely.

Victorious Secret > BJ 02/25/2014 at 10:50

0

The reason the Tesla works so well is because its sitting in a size segment where size and weight are not a detriment by having batteries.

They can afford to be porkers when everyone is a porker. Thus more batteries, decent range and in a design that is very attractive.

Not sure what Nissan will be able to do, I mean, it isn't like Infiniti is selling like hotcakes or that their cars are THAT compelling.

BJ > Victorious Secret 02/25/2014 at 12:07

0

Excellent point about the size/weight factor! It's probably hard to get 300 miles worth of batteries into a Leaf-sized car, unless they're structural, and then you've gone and created maintenance and replacement issues.

From a design perspective, Tesla was lucky to be starting out from scratch. If Infiniti wants to build a big sexy electric sedan that grabs attention, not only do they need to get their technology game to a very high level, but they're going to have to break from their current design. By doing so, they could have some brand recognition issues.

BJ > Victorious Secret 02/25/2014 at 12:12

0

And further to the design point:

I've seen it mentioned that Prius should become a sub-brand of Toyota, not just a model name, and I think it's a good idea. Leaf could become an electric sub-brand for Nissan/Infiniti that covers the entire range of possibilities.

In the near future pure electric and pure gas vehicles will be very distinct from each other because their energy storage and delivery systems simply aren't packaged the same, so they can probably benefit from a unique brand and marketing message. (For the most part, range-extended electric cars like the Chevy Volt would fall into this category.) As an added benefit, a separate brand shields the parent in the case of failure.

Hybrids, however, might still make more sense to continue on as versions of existing gas models because they offer essentially a "gas-lite" version of a car you already know and are probably already comfortable with.