back to article Leaf battery rental scheme unveiled

The Leaf e-car’s purchase price could be similar to that of a similar size petrol car, maker Nissan has promised, thanks in-part to an innovative battery rental scheme. Leaf_01 Nissan wants you to buy the Leaf, but then rent its battery Under the terms of the deal, customers will buy the Leaf outright and then lease the …

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  1. Ian Ferguson
    Thumb Up

    That actually makes a lot of sense.

    One of my concerns with buying an electric car would be that I'd be buying a very expensive battery that will date very quickly - within a couple of years, it would be replaced by lighter, cheaper, more capable batteries. If I was renting batteries, I would expect to keep up with the technology.

  2. miknik
    Stop

    Sounds like a good idea...

    but c'mon. 70 - 80% capacity after 10 years? My laptop can't do that after 10 months!

  3. HSR0601

    Nickel-Lithium battery that can hold more than 3.5 times the energy

    In fact, just a few weeks ago, researchers at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology developed the first

    Nickel-Lithium battery that can hold more than 3.5 times the energy of a normal Lithium-Ion battery

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Now I see...

    Where Barnes & Noble got the idea for naming their new e-book reader. Cross over customers will be able to read their Nook e-book while sitting in their Leaf e-car...

    (I know, should have been 'I'll get my coat' rather than 'Joke Alert)'

  5. LuMan
    Thumb Up

    80%

    Well, that's not that bad. I've seen a lot of 10 year old petrol cars aren't 80% as efficient as they were when they were new.

  6. Al 14
    Stop

    @miknik

    The reason your laptop batteries get knackered is because they are not managed properly in terms of charge and temperature. Car batteries are tightly managed. Honestly they simply wouldn't be able to release a car that was knackered after a couple of years use it would be commercial suicide!

  7. fifi
    Happy

    said it before...

    ..and I'll say it again.

    Standardise on a power-cell form-factor, and user-swappable batteries for sale at "petrol stations" will allow you to refill and extend your range without waiting hours for a recharge. Solves the problem of range, solves the problem of finite battery life, solves the problem of power-cell obsolescence (to some extent)

  8. David Kelly 2

    Battery Life

    I too believe that if 80% is remaining 10 years later then everyone will be all smiles. If this prediction really is accurate then those who are making the claim should have no hesitation in setting battery rental rates right here and now. Is only a matter of the time value of money multiplied by the risk of rental abuse multiplied by the risk of of battery life not being what they say.

    Meanwhile, the statement that monthly rental rates include electricity at a single all-you-can-eat price strongly suggests wear and tear on the battery is a much greater expense than electricity.

  9. dracotrapnet
    Flame

    Ford

    @miknik, have you driven a ford lately? Known to mechanics as part eating machines. They are designed to become knackered after 2 or 3 years.

  10. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Thumb Up

    Rember the old supercars on Top Gear?

    Ran on a rolling road they lost about 4HP/year.

    How many 5 year old cars have been maintained well enough to retain their original HP?

    The difference between a properly running engine and one that leaks oil all over the place is about 2thou (50micrometres)..

    Given the battery is the major item that will degrade/fail over the life of an EV something which addresses that problem is a key element of improving takeup.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    @By David Kelly 2

    This has bugger all to do with battery life / costs.

    It's do with how crap the economy is.

    Unless of course you know how much a £ against a dollar / euro / Yen will be in a years time, in which case you really shouldn't be on a techie site.

  12. Dino
    Pint

    Re: Ford

    had an old Fiesta ages ago that my sis just dropped on me when she left the country.. damn thing never broke down - the cooler fan stopped working at some point but it still had no problems...

    twas a rust bucket but it had a really strong heart!!...

    plus it had a great anti tailgate feature!!.. turn the choke on when anyone's cruising to close and it would smoke them out!!!!

    They should reintroduce that feature methinks...

    Beer icon being raised to that old Fiesta (in a scrap yard somewhere...)

  13. Danny 14
    Go

    to dracotrapnet

    Not true! Ive had fords for the past 20 years ranging from fiesta, escort, sierra, ka, mondeo, focus and now an smax. *all* of them died of high mileage and since im self employed claiming 60k via my umbrella company the ones in the past 10 years have had some fair use. The SMax has already put on 80k in just short of 2 years without skipping a beat and the focus before it was sold on ebay at 215k (for £500 too!)

    Granted the mondeo and focuse needed suspension bushes at 120k, the focus needed a new maf sensor and throttle body assembly but that is all (apart from maintenance parts).

    All cars can be lemons but with a bit of maintenance and not getting the arse ragged off them they will survive. I very much DOUBT that batteries will be 80% capacity for 10 years in the sort of use that a car will need them for. Sure you can get nicads that (if looked after) will do so but not LI batteries. They self consume dont they? Hence even STORING them degrades performance!

  14. Stef 1
    Alert

    Nothing new under the Sun

    Renault and Peugeot have been using this commercial model (buy the shell, lease the batteries) for a long time with their private and industrial e-vehicle, starting in the early '90s with the Clio, 106 and Traffic van.

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