Leaf BEV now sub-$40K as Nissan cuts price
BY COBEY BARTELS | 10th May 2024
NISSAN has slashed more than $10,000 off the price of both Leaf electric hatchback variants, plunging the ageing model into Australia’s hotly contested sub-$40K budget battery electric vehicle (BEV) category against the likes of BYD, GWM and MG.
Priced from $39,990 drive-away for the standard 39kWh model and $49,990 drive-away for the 59kWh long-range E+ option, the Leaf once again presents strong value as one of Australia’s cheapest BEVs.
The catch is, Nissan is only offering the reduced pricing until May 31 - a short pre-tax time window that feels a bit like a run-out sale for the model that is rumoured to be retired by mid-2025 with a successor on the way.
Unless the offer is extended – as manufacturers like GWM have done in recent months – from the start of next month the standard Leaf will return to its normal price of $50,990 plus on-road costs, and the Leaf E+ to $61,490 plus on-road costs.
Until the flash sale ends, the base-model Nissan Leaf ties with the MG4 and ZS EV (both $39,990 drive-away) as the second-cheapest BEV in Australia, trailing behind the GWM Ora ($35,990 drive-away).
The GWM Ora however, with its 320km driving range, will trump the standard-range Leaf’s 270km range and both MG models can do well over 300km.
Leaf owners are also forced to use the older style CHAdeMO charging plug, the battery is air-cooled rather than liquid-cooled and, while facelifted for 2023 and updated ever so slightly this year, the Nissan cannot offer the style and tech points of rivals.
Nissan’s pricing move comes just after Peugeot dropped the price of its E-2008 by $25K – and quickly sold out as a result – as Nissan’s pioneering BEV continues its struggle to gain sales momentum in 2024.
Australian Leaf sales are down 44 per cent year-on-year compared to its record 2023 numbers, likely a result of its ageing technology and design.
Since launching globally in 2010 and making its way Down Under two years later, more than 2000 Australians have purchased a Nissan Leaf, but in recent years it has struggled against contemporary competitors.
While a record 2023 saw 484 Leaf models delivered, the longstanding nameplate achieved nowhere near the sales volume of competitors like the MG4 (3134), BYD Atto 3 (11,042) or Tesla Model 3 (16,506).
Whether price slashes will be enough for the Nissan Leaf to take the fight to its Chinese competitors, only time will tell.
