Nissan Leaf Slow to Reach Buyers

Two much-hyped electric vehicles went on sale in December. Neither sold in huge numbers, but Nissan Leaf buyers are exeriencing a delay as their purchases travel from Japan.

The company managed to deliver only 19 cars in December, and some customers are becoming disgruntled about the wait.

According to Brian Carolin, Nissan’s senior vice president of sales, the company has seen some cancellations, but so far it’s not significant.

What’s the cause of the delays? In an interview with Plugincars.com, Carolin said it stems with assembly at the Oppama, Japan plant, where the process is still being perfected.

The automaker has been overwhelmed by initial demand, too. “We probably gave an expectation of availability, which in hindsight was too early,” he said. Carolin is referring to the deluge of Leaf advertisements on the internet, in print and on TV (remember that polar bear hug?).

Deliveries are beginning to ramp up, Carolin said. While the automaker only delivered a handful of Leafs in December, it looks like Nissan is preparing to deliver hundreds over the next two weeks if the recently volume of delivery confirmation emails is any indication, according to Plugincars.com.

Nissan Addresses Slow LEAF Launch, Says Expectations Could Have Been Better Managed (Plugincars)