Nissan Leaf: ET-IT

EV-IT With the Nissan Leaf

by Steve Auger

Touting a range of 100 miles on a single charge, the zero emissions Nissan Leaf is poised to become an early leader in the field of Electric Vehicles (EV).  In a bold move, Nissan decided to eliminate the alternate power source (gasoline), a feature on Nissan's prime competition, the Chevy Volt.  By so doing, they have eliminated weight, making the vehicle more efficient, and optimized space, allowing more room for batteries and interior design.  And there is the lower price tag, not to be underestimated in this ensuing battle for market share.

What are the negatives for the elimination of gasoline as secondary power source?    One downside is that the Nissan Leaf sacrifices the ability to go on a long trip (100+ miles).  It is a car strictly meant for short drives with long wait (8-16 hour) recharge cycles.  . 

The second and perhaps bigger downside is the potential for being stranded with a dead battery.   The Chevy Volt should never leave a motorist stranded simply because it has gasoline power as an alternative.  In addition, GM has described in great detail the engineering that thas gone into their Lithion Ion battery, a battery technology that has given cell-phone manufacturers fits for several years.  This is in contrast to Nissan, a company that has been relatively quiet on how they plan to make Lithium batteries operate reliably for multiple years. 

In any case, Nissan has a problem to overcome.  And that problem is the worry for motorists of becoming stranded in the middle of nowhere.  And the only option is to be towed to a recharging station.

Nissan is attempting to overcome this worry by providing an advanced Information Technology (IT) capability that will work with the car's navigation system.  The navigation system will calculate whether or not the vehicle is within range of a recharging system such as your home, (possibly) office or a commercial charging station.  In addition, the navigation system will show the driving radius for the car's current state of charge.

Drivers will also be able to monitor the vehicle;s state of charge by cell phone and online.

Whether or not the IT features available with the Nissan Leaf eliminate consumer worries remains to be seen.  But you can be sure I won't be buying first generation technology :)