U.S. Motorists Face Long Wait for Nissan’s Electric Leaf

Nissan’s all-electric car, the Leaf, has secured about eight thousand firm orders in the U.S., with the Japanese automaker saying it’s ramping up production to meet deliveries.

Unlike other cars, the Leaf bypasses dealers, and customers order via the Internet.

As of September, Nissan had taken twenty thousand reservations, with eight thousand turning into follow-up purchases. Many Customers thought they would be driving in the electric car early in the New Year.

But Nissan delivered less than 20 cars in December and just 89 Leafs in January, forcing the company to assuage irate customers.

Nissan’s U.S. sales head, Brian Carolin, says all orders will be satisfied by September, with production being ramped up in Japan at plants like Oppama in Yokosuka, and peaking towards the end of the first quarter.

Still, Japan’s second largest automaker admits orders could fall from the eight thousand received so far. Initial interest in the Leaf was as high as 270-thousand.

Nissan adds a similar sign-up process will take place once orders from the current reservation queue have been met, but Carolin could not say when this would take place.

So far, almost all of the Leaf cars sold have been delivered in the U.S. Pacific Coast.

Nissan says it will expand sales after getting a foothold in the West.

Foto: NTDTV