Vehicle data provider Glass's is 'upbeat' on the future of Nissan EV's, after the company released battery reliability data last week.
The manufacturer said last week that 99.99 percent of its battery units in Leaf models remain fit for purpose, five years after launch.
Rupert Pontin, Glass’s head of valuations, said: “This is something of a watershed moment for the EV sector, with a major car manufacturer being able to report on the long-term reliability of batteries for the first time – and the results are very, very good.
“They are good enough that, as an expert in this field, we will be looking again at our residual value forecasts for LEAF and probably revising them upwards. Long term battery life has been a definite concern for used EV buyers but the new figures from Nissan effectively remove this worry.
“Really, Nissan has gone through a process with the LEAF similar to Toyota with the first generation Prius several years ago, where the cars had to be proven in real life conditions before used buyers could feel confident. Now, the Prius enjoys excellent residuals and the LEAF should start to find a similar level of market acceptance.
“Generally, Glass’s has taken a bullish view on EV technology and we are pleased to see that our forecasts are starting to translate into strong, real world results. Also, Nissan are to be congratulated for their bravery in this area and the investment they have made in bringing EV technology to the mass market.”
MR.Bean - 01/04/2015 10:22
Really! Is this the reason why values are so low? Nothing to do with the fact the Leaf is now behind the times and Nissan is giving them away for "free"? Why would anyone consider the Leaf when you can have the A3 e-tron and Golf GTE, also with the new grant changes you could have the Golf e which is better than any Leaf. There is only way the Leaf RV's will go, and its down!