Nissan expands U.S. rollout of its Leaf EV
If you've been holding your breath waiting to buy a Nissan Leaf, you may be in luck. The Japanese automaker has decided to expand its rollout to the American market. Nissan is now taking orders from the general public for the 2012 Leaf in Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.
According to AutoObserver, Nissan is prioritizing EV-friendly markets in the U.S. to make the best use of its production capacity, but the company hopes to have the battery-electric Leaf on the market nationally by the end of 2013.
The five-seater, which has already been sold in some U.S. states since late 2010, will now be available for purchase in 21 states -- with rollouts scheduled for Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island by the end of this year.
To meet the increasing demand, Nissan is expanding production of the Leaf from only one plant in Oppama, Japan, to plants in Smyrna, Tenn., and in the U.K. -- bringing the Leaf's global capacity to 250,000 per year once all three plants are operational.
The 2012 Nissan Leaf is priced between $32,780 and $37,250, and qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit, in additional to regional EV incentives.
Photo: Nissan (image of 2011 Nissan Leaf)
via [AutoObserver]
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com