It occurred to me that as a consumer with a $99 reservation for the Nissan LEAF, that perhaps if I called Nissan, they might answer this question. So I did.
Nissan’s LEAF customer service number is 877-664-2738. I asked the customer service representative our reader’s question – If I have a reservation on a LEAF and I live in an initial launch market, and someone in a non-launch market has a prior reservation, who will get their car first. The response was that the person that lives in the initial launch market will get their car first. Nissan’s reasoning is that the initial launch markets will all receive a significant battery charging infrastructure concurrent with the release of the LEAF. This is why the five launch markets were selected.
Asked about the recent news of General Motors announcement regarding the Volt battery warranty, the representative stated that there has been no announcement regarding the LEAF battery warranty.
Nissan’s representative did state that those with reservations will be contacted sometime in August regarding placing firm orders for the LEAF. A more specific time-frame could not be provided. Asked if any delay in production was expected, we were told that the LEAF is still expected to roll out in December of this year.
While, I suppose, there is certain information that the customer service department will not provide, we did find that they were helpful with these questions. We have found going to the source is often (but not necessarily always) the best way to get the most accurate information.