A TALE OF TWO ELECTRIC CARS

Sparks fly as Volt and Leaf pick up speed
Bernard Simon, September 20, 2010 (Financial Times)

"Patrick Wang and Ken Muir are both electric car enthusiasts. But when it comes to buying one, Mr Wang, manager at a search-engine marketing agency in San Francisco… has decided on General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt… Mr Muir, a quality engineer in nearby San Jose… has gone for a Nissan Leaf…[in] what is shaping up as a fierce and closely watched battle between the first two electric cars aimed at the mass market…

"The Leaf, due to go on sale in December in the US and Japan, will be powered entirely by a battery. Nissan claims that it will have a range of 100 miles before it needs recharging…The Volt, more accurately described as an extended-range plug-in hybrid, will run on battery power alone for 40 miles. After that, a small petrol engine will provide power to the generator, giving it a total range of about 340 miles…Existing hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, use a battery and an internal-combustion engine in tandem…"

(from the Financial Times - click to enlarge)

"The Volt is designed to address what the industry has termed “range anxiety”, widely seen as one of the biggest hurdles facing widespread acceptance of electric cars, especially given the initial scarcity of battery recharging stations. The vast majority of early buyers are expected to recharge their cars overnight at home…[Wang also] was initially concerned about buying a car from a Detroit-based company with a less-than-stellar image for quality and reliability [but has concluded the technology is sound]…

"Mr Muir says that he and his wife like both the Leaf and Volt technologies [but went for the zero-emission Leaf]…The couple estimate they have made only seven road trips of more than 100 miles over the past three years…[and, unlike Wang,] own a second car…"

A change is coming (click to enlarge)

"The Volt carries a price tag of $41,000, well above the Leaf’s $32,780 recommended price. GM hopes to deflect attention from the price gap by promoting a lease option of $350 a month over 36 months…[Both vehicles] qualify for government subsidies – in the US, a $7,500 federal tax credit. Some US states have also pitched in to encourage electric-car purchases. California will offer a rebate of up to $5,000 per vehicle. Tennessee – where Nissan has its North American head office – announced earlier this month that it would provide a $2,500 rebate on the first 1,000 electric vehicles bought in the state.

"GM has not been shy about bashing the competition…Nissan rejects the criticism and says the two vehicles are like apples and oranges…The two carmakers can quibble all they like but ultimately the customer will decide as the vehicles start selling from dealer forecourts in 2011."