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Nissan Leaf Electric Car, the first affordable mass-market zero emissions electric car, is now available for ordering with a whopping $7500 Federal Tax Credit on New Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicles through December 31, 2011. The credit will begin to be phased out for each manufacturer in the second quarter following the calendar quarter in which a minimum of 200,000 qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles have been sold by that manufacturer for use in the U.S. The credit is available against the alternative minimum tax.
The drops the price to as little as $25,280 after-tax savings. California adds a Electric Vehicle Purchase Rebate $5000 rebate while funds last dropping it even further to $20,280! Check your local state for its rebates. Georgia also has a $5000 rebate.
It is all electric, not a hybrid car and is rated for a 100 mile range on a single charge, although this might be optimistic. The leaf is made in Japan and Tennessee. Nissan makes it, so you don’t have to worry about an unknown company that may go out of business in a couple years. The car is partly made of recycled materials and they use wind power to power a portion of their factory.
The Leaf comes with a home charging dock that requires a 220/240V 40AMP dedicated electric circuit, so additional costs of approximately $2200 (50% tax credit available – Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit) will be incurred to upgrade your garage. Charging the battery to 80% of its capacity with a rapid 440V charger takes about 25 minutes. A full battery charge occurs in eight hours with 220/240V charging and cost approximately $2.28 in electricity. (Approx 19 kWH of charging, average per kW of electricity $0.12/kW)
Someday infrastructure will be available to allow charging of the car while you’re outside the home.
