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Finally, the wait for electric cars in United States is over. Two major automobile companies Nissan Motor Co Ltd and General Motors are all set to unveil their respective models by the second week of November.
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While Japanese carmaker Nissan plans to unveil Nissan Leaf, General Motors will release its Chevy Volt electric car.
Nissan has priced its five-seater, all-electric car Leaf at $32,780 plus a yet-to-be announced destination fee.
The Nissan Leaf qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which effectively brings its price down to an affordable $25,280. Additionally, Nissan has arranged for consumers to either buy or lease the Leaf.
The carmaker will begin delivering the vehicles in December.
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On the other hand, General Motors’ first plug-in hybrid electric car that many say represents its future is priced at $41,000.
The carmaker said that it will offer a $350-per-month lease deal that's essentially equal to the Nissan's Leaf, which will put the battery-powered Volt within reach of many of its prospective customers.
Like Nissan Leaf, the Chevrolet Volt also qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit which effectively brings its price down to $33,500 for the buyer.
Volt runs 40 miles on battery and then extends its range by 300 miles when the 1.4 liter gasoline engine generator kicks in while the all-electric Nissan Leaf runs 100 miles on battery.
The federal government has put in place a rebate program to boost productivity of electric cars. The program allocates high rebates to all-electric vehicles that do not emit tailpipe pollution in comparison to hybrids that emit some level of tailpipe pollution due to the use of gasoline engines.
This rebate program helps Nissan's Leaf to qualify for a $5,000 rebate compared to GM's Volt - a hybrid, which will get only around $3,000 as rebate in California.
GM is also going the extra mile to woo the customers with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty just on its battery. The warranties for other parts of the car do not last for that many years.
For those who opt to lease, Nissan will take the tax credit and pass the savings on to the customer in the form of a sub vented 3-year lease on a monthly payment of about $349 (plus tax and fees). A $1,999 down payment will be required to be paid at the beginning of the lease period.
Up to 4,700 Leaf owners could receive free charging equipment and federal tax credits for the equipment will also be available.
Nissan officials say other tax incentives could further reduce the price of its Leaf further, citing local programs in California, Georgia and Oregon. Prospective car owners in Georgia stand to gain maximum incentives.
In fact, Leaf could be available for as low as $20,000 within the Peach State after an additional state credit of $5,000 is taken into consideration and factoring the $7,500 federal tax credit.
Georgia and California states offer rebates up to $5,000 per light duty vehicles meant for individuals and business owners who buy or lease new eligible zero-emission or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles under the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP).
