New 2013 Nissan LEAF goes the ‘Battery Lease’ route UPDATED

The new 2013 Nissan LEAF EV has been revealed with a raft of improvements, new price structure and a low headline price thanks to a battery lease option.

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Even though you will be paying the same rate as you did in the first year, you’ll have to make do with the old batteries unless they fall below the 9 bar level, when Nissan will replace them under warranty.

There is no doubt that Nissan are still convinced the future is the electric car, and the LEAF – the world’s best-selling electric car – is the future of motoring.

And the LEAF is a convincing car if all you want is a well-built family car to transport you round your local area, even if it will cost an arm and a leg to buy in comparison to an ICE car.

So Nissan are doing something to address the headline price of the LEAF by offering new price structures with the arrival of the 2013 Nissan LEAF that include and option to buy the LEAF but lease the batteries – just as you can on the Renault Zoe EV.

That means you can now have a LEAF Flex for £20,990 (less the taxpayer bribe of £5k for as long as it’ available) plus another £70 a month (which is a minimum charge – it depends on mileage) to lease the battery.

At the other end of the price scale is the Tekna LEAF with all the toys that will cost you £30,490 (less the bribe) and which does include the batteries.

Nissan say the new LEAF has more than 100 improvements on the current LEAF, including a range improvement from 109 miles to 124 miles (but not in the real world) thanks to better regenerative braking and a new heating system, new interior trim, Around View Monitor and new suspension settings better able to cope with the UK’s rotten pot-holed roads.

The new LEAF comes in a choice of Visia, Acenta and Tekna trims – with the ‘Flex’ bit for the battery lease on all trim levels available – with the Tekna option getting plenty of toys including Bose, 17″ alloys and LED headlights.

We’ve asked Nissan about the battery lease option and costs (costs for the battery lease are below) and we’re waiting for a response. We wanted to know if you opt for a one year battery lease if you get new batteries when you renew your lease or if you’re stuck with the original ones.

We’ve also asked CAP for their comments on the LEAF battery lease after they condemned Renault for going the same route with the Zoe EV.

We’ll update when we hear back.

2013 Nissan LEAF Price List (after taxpayer bribe)

	Buy car, buy battery	Buy car, lease battery
Visia	£20,990	£15,990
Acenta	£23,490	£18,490
Tekna	£25,490	£20,490

Nissan LEAF Battery Leasing Cost

Contract term	>7,500 miles	9,000 miles	10,500 miles	12,000 miles	15,000 miles
36 months+	£70.00	£77.00	£85.00	£93.00	£109.00
24 months	£80.00	£87.00	£95.00	£103.00	£119.00
12 months	£90.00	£97.00	£105.00	£113.00	£129.00