A classic example of opportunity cost, Nissan Motor Co. placed a high bet on electric vehicles when it engineered the Nissan Leaf. Confident that EVs are the future, Nissan fast-tracked the Leaf to become one of the first mass-produced fully-electric automobiles to come from a major automaker.
However, according to Detroit News, a senior executive from Nissan Motor Co. admitted that the Japanese automaker is "falling short" from its goal to sell 20,000 Leafs in the U.S. market for fiscal year 2012.
Despite the early challenges, Nissan Vice President of product planning Andy Palmer insists that the company is fully committed to doubling its electric vehicle sales. "We don't plan on the moment of changing the projection. We're a little disappointed... The uptake isn't as strong as we first hoped."
In fact, Nissan has only sold 5,212 Leafs for the year, down a worrisome 27.8 percent from the year before. According to Palmer, poor marketing has been a critical factor in the Leaf's sub-par sales numbers. In an effort to right its mistakes, Nissan has named a new vice president to oversee global Leaf operations.
Closing a 15,000 sales gap by December is hilariously unrealistic but Nissan's 2012 fiscal year does not end until March 31, 2012. That said, Palmer stresses that Nissan must begin Leaf production in the United States for Leaf sales to truly meet sales targets. Nissan has chosen a manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee for Leaf assembly. According to Nissan, Smyrna, a $1.7 billion investment largely financed by loans from the U.S. DOE, will be capable of producing up to 200,000 batteries a year and assembly 150,000 Leafs annually. The new line is expected to make it to dealerships by the end of February.
A supremely capable plant, Detroit News inquired whether Nissan believes that Smyrna will be using its full capacity any time soon. Andy Palmer replies, "That is the $24,000 question. The plan says yes, the current trajectory says no, and the question is whether we can close the current trajectory."
The 20,000 target is certainly a tall order, Palmer admits, "At this stage, we still have about 20,000 units in mind. The current track - you can do the math - we're falling short. It's a subject of continuous discussion at the level of the executive committee.We haven't given up yet."
[Source: Detroit News]
