This could be the year
Nissan’s LEAF sold 2,236 units in March – their best month yet. Finally, this puts Nissan on track to meet their well publicized goal of selling 20,000 LEAFs a year in the United States. This sales pace arose through an aggressive price reduction with the introduction of the new decontented 2013 S model, and an aggressive lease program, which can make the LEAF available for as little as $199 per month. This lease program has just been extended by Nissan through April 30 in select markets.
Yet to be seen is whether Nissan can sustain this sales volume when their subsidized lease program ends. Based on discussion on a popular LEAF forum, currently over two thirds of 2013 LEAFs are being leased. It will be interesting to see how demand is impacted with the end of this lease deal.
Nissan also said that brand sales for March were the best in company history. With March marking the end of Nissan’s fiscal year, Nissan always makes a big push to mark a strong end to the year.