Nissan matches GM on EV battery warranty

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- Nissan Motor Co. said today it will offer an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on its Nissan Leaf battery pack.

In announcing the warranty, Nissan said it was responding to "U.S. market competitive conditions." Earlier this month, General Motors Co. said its extended-range plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt would carry the identical warranty for its battery pack.

The electric Leaf will be able to travel up to 100 miles on battery power before needing to be recharged and will go sale by year's end.

Nissan said the Leaf will be launched in five initial markets: California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. The Japanese automaker said that more than 55 percent of 17,000 reservations are located in initial launch markets; the company plans to sell 20,000 vehicles in the United States in the first year of sales.

Nissan issued its warranty announcement at the same GM was unveiling the pricing for its Volt, a vehicle that will get up to 40 miles on battery power. The Volt also has a gasoline engine that adds another 300 miles of range.

GM's Volt price of $41,000 is much higher than the Leaf's $32,780 price, but the lease price for the Volt starts at $350 a month, compared with $349 a month for the Leaf.

It's a sign that the two automakers will be batting for hearts and minds through the rest of 2010 as they both race to introduce their electric vehicles by year's end. Nissan is running banner ads on websites today with the message: "Nissan Leaf: Priced for Everyone" -- a clear reference to GM's higher sales price.

Nissan customers in these first five launch states will be able to place firm orders for the Leaf starting in August.

The Nissan Leaf will be introduced to Texas and Hawaii in January 2011; North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C., in April 2011; and rolled-out to the balance of the nation beginning in fall 2011 with availability in all markets nationwide by the end of that year.

"We are pleased to see so many people making a choice for a zero-emission future by placing reservations for the Nissan Leaf," said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Nissan North America. "Consumer feedback and market readiness have been key drivers in developing our phased rollout. Nissan is able to target areas of customer demand for early launch, while continuing to work in future markets to ensure the continued success of electric vehicles."

Nissan offered more details about prospective Leaf buyers.

More than 30 percent of reservations are for blue Nissan Leaf vehicles. Silver is a close second, at about 26 percent. The remaining reservations are close to evenly split among red, black and white.

About 75 percent of Nissan Leaf orders are for the more expensive SL trim level -- which adds a rearview monitor, solar panel spoiler, fog lights and automatic headlights to the base model SV.

dshepardson@detnews.com (202) 662-8735