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Is 120 miles just about perfect for EV range?

When it comes to battery-electric vehicles, our friend Brad Berman over at Plug In Cars says 40 miles makes all the difference in the world. That's the approximate difference in single-charge range between the battery-electric version of the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Leaf. It's also the difference between the appearance or disappearance of range anxiety. The 50-percent battery increase has zapped any lingering range anxiety, Berman writes. The RAV4 EV possesses a 40-kilowatt-hour pack, compared to the 24-kWh pack in the Leaf. After factoring in differences in size, weight and other issues, that means the compact SUV gets about 120 miles on a single charge in realistic driving conditions, compared to about 80 miles in the Leaf. "The 50 percent increase in battery size from Leaf to RAV has zapped any lingering range anxiety," Berman writes. His observations further feed the notion that drivers need substantial backup juice in order to feel comfortable driving EVs. Late last year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), along with the Consumers Union estimated that about 42 percent of US households could drive plug-in vehicles with "little or no change" in their driving habits, and that almost 70 percent of US commuters drive fewer than 60 miles per weekday. That would imply that a substantial swath of the country should be comfortable using a car like the Leaf as their daily driver - with first-quarter Leaf sales jumping 46 percent from a year before, more Americans certainly are. Still, the implication here is that EV sales will continue to be on the margins until an automaker steps up battery capabilities to 120 or so miles while keeping the price in the $30,000 range. Think that's a reasonable goal to shoot for?

Nissan Leaf resale value expected to take a hit

Nissan Leaf resale values may take a tumble, according to Kelley Blue Book. The vehicle evaluation resource said the 2013 Nissan Leaf will retain around 35 percent of its MSRP after three years; that's down five percent from what KBB gave the 2012 Leaf at the end of 2011. Automotive News reports KBB adjusted the EV's residual value prediction because the used transaction prices for the 2011 model have stuck around 35 percent for the past few months due to relatively cheap gasoline, not to mention the fact that Nissan trimmed the electric's MSRP from $36,050 to $29,650 before the $7,500 tax credit.
Since used buyers are often motivated by more practical buying concerns than early adopters or those wanting to curb their carbon emissions, they may not be willing to pay more for an EV. Meanwhile, early Leaf models are now coming to auction, abandoned by rental car companies after customers shunned them in favor of traditional internal-combustion vehicles. Many of those at auction have less than 10,000 miles and carry an average transaction price of just $13,700.

Nissan Canada to end Versa sales with Micra launch

There's plenty of space in Canada. In fact, with the second largest land mass of any country in the world, Canada has a population density of just nine people per square mile. But apparently there isn't enough room for more than one cheap Nissan in the True North, Strong and Free.
As you may recall, Nissan Canada recently announced it would begin offering the Micra hatchback with a starting price of less than ten thousand Canadian dollars - significantly less than the nearly $12k it charges for the Versa sedan. As a result, Nissan will reportedly cease offering the Versa sedan in new home of the olympic gold medal for hockey.
Apparently the Versa was a slow seller in Canada, a country in which European tastes tend to prevail - particularly in the Eastern provinces - more than they do in the United States to the south. Nissan evidently hopes that the Micra (a model created principally for the European market) will do better than the American-centric Versa ever did there. According to sales numbers cited by Automotive News, Nissan sold barely more than 12,000 Versa sedans and hatchbacks in Canada last year, but over 117,000 in the United States.