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| A Nissan leaves. |
The Leaf will begin arriving with customers in March, is valued at 40% of its original £28,990 cost on October’s CAP monitor (www.cap.co.uk) at three years/30,000 miles.
However, for customers receiving the £5,000 discount on electric vehicles currently being offered by the Government, it will result in a residual value of 46% over the same period. This is in contrast to UK based Glass’s Guide who in June 2010 published that in their 'opinion' the Nissan Leaf would only retain 12.8% of it's value after 5 years.
The cost of charging an electric vehicle to drive its maximum potential range of 100 miles is usually six to ten times less expensive than travelling 100 miles in a petrol or diesel powered vehicle.
CAP's Mark Norman said: "The Leaf should have a shallower depreciation curve than conventional cars; the electric motor has fewer moving parts than an internal combustion engine so when mechanical issues and wear and tear begin to affect other cars, the Leaf should still be running well." He added that companies using the Leaf and other electric vehicles will gain more from the running costs equation the longer they keep them on the fleet.
(This is more in line with RVs for the G-Wiz EV in London, where its exemption from the London Congestion Charge and free / discounted parking and charging and exemption from Road fund licence helps to maintain higher resale values. This is in spite of the G-Wiz's lead acid batteries which have to be changed more frequently than li-ion batteries in the Leaf).
