Nissan Motor Company is reportedly experiencing delays in supplying its heavily anticipated electric car to US customers.

The popular Nissan LEAF, which was introduced in December 2010, has more than 20,000 people on its waiting list. The Japanese automaker already delivered 19 to customers during its first production month, and followed it with 87 deliveries just last month.

Despite the delay, productions for the LEAF EV is still on schedule with about 4,000 cars built in Nissan’s Oppama plant in Japan. The LEAF is scheduled to be produced in other Nissan factories as well. The cars will be built in Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee factory from 2012 and in Sunderland, UK from 2013.

Although the scheduled production seems organized, Nissan admitted bottlenecks in its quality assurance process. The delays also stem from the EV’s unconventional ordering system, which is done through the Internet. The system bypasses US dealers and is responsible for distribution delays.
According to David Reuter, Nissan US spokesman: “We knew that the production rollout would be slow at first and then would ramp up [but] it’s where we expected it to be. Where we disconnected was in communicating this to the customer.”

Nissan has high hopes that distribution would improve by April.

The Nissan LEAF’s delay is just one of the many challenges the Japanese automaker and its French partner Renault will face as they brace their companies for eight battery-powered models that will hit the market by 2014. It’s the biggest challenge on technological advancement made by any company in the automotive industry.

Around €4bn or $5.4bn is being invested by Nissan and Renault to meet the challenge in electric vehicles. Factories will be supplied with lithium-ion batteries and are being built in France, Portugal, UK, US and Japan.

According to reports, Nissan was only able to deliver 60 units of its Leaf electric vehicle out of the 6,000 orders received for the said vehicle in Japan. The Japanese automaker said that the reason for the slow production is that they are trying to ensure the high quality of the manufactured Leafs before they are rolled out of the plant. It can be remembered that last November, Nissan Chief Operating Toshiyuki Shiga stated, “We want to launch the Leaf entirely free of troubles. We are making cars a bit slowly while taking thorough care. We might make our customers wait.”

Nissan further stated that despite the slow manufacturing process they are on track and will not missed out on their scheduled delivery dates.

A Nissan official said, “As it is our first major project to mass produce EVs, we began building them with caution…Production lines are working fine so we expect to fill the orders as planned.”

It was December of last year that Nissan delivered the first Leaf to a US customer and before the end of 2010, it was again able to hand off Leaf keys to an additional 19 US customers. These figures, including that of Japan’s, are a bit low from what Nissan was expecting since the Leaf first hit the market. But according to Nissan officials one of the factors that cause the slow sale of the Leaf is partly due to the process it takes for consumers to complete the procedure in applying for a government subsidy for electric vehicles.

So there, I hope things are clear now. There are no delays… Nissan is just trying to ensure that you get defect free Leafs. Although, I’m not so sure by what Mr. Shiga meant when he said, “We might make our customers wait.” –. 

Nissan’s green LEAF is set to hit dealership this December. The LEAF is an electric vehicle sporting a love it or hate it design. Distinctive features of the LEAF include a low hood sandwiched in between two V-shaped headlights that looks like shark fins. The unusual headlights were not installed for statement alone, but were designed for a purpose – to split and redirect airflow away from the door mirrors minimizing noise and drag in the process.

The LEAF doesn’t have emissions equipment which gives the rear hatch a cavernous depth giving you so much storage space than you could ever imagine. There’s also plenty of headroom and legroom both on the front seat as well as the passenger seat. So it’s not going to be a problem if you are more than 6 feet tall.

In terms of connectivity, the LEAF utilizes an exclusive advanced IT system which is linked to a global data center providing the user with support, information as well as entertainment 24 hours a day. Its dash-mounted monitor displays the status of LEAF’s power and even shows the areas of nearby charging stations. You can also use your mobile phone to turn on air-conditioning and set the charging functions even when the LEAF is low on charged. The LEAF can travel 100 miles on a single charged. How much does the LEAF cost? The introductory price is $25,000 but according to Nissan it still can go down considering local and state incentives.

A new wave of green cars is scheduled to go on sale on the next two succeeding years, 2011 and 2012. This new wave would comprise of eight hybrids and a dozen plug-in cars. Unfortunately, the electric cars would only be sold on selected cities with already setup charging stations. The rollout of the green cars would start from California then to other states including New York, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. Some of the green cars to watch out for includes: Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid SUV, Lexus CT 200h compact, Volkswagen Touareg SUV hybrid, VW Jetta Hybrid, Coda sedan, Think City, Focus compact electric version, and RAV4 SUV electric version.

To get a head start, General Motors and Nissan will be having an early introduction of their green cars this December with the Chevrolet Volt and Leaf. You might want to check one out in dealers in your area.

With the entire automotive industry at a tailspin and the recession making everything really tough on everyone; small and compact cars have been what people are talking about. Meanwhile, stretching your hard-earned dollar may be quite a chore these days, which is why you should opt for a vehicle that’s built to do just that. In the recent LA Autoshow, Nisssan unveiled what could be next year’s car of the masses, the 2008 Nissan Cube.

The Cube may sound too square and bland initially, but its smooth design gives you that relaxed and calm feeling when you see it. According to its designer, the Cube’s windows are built to evoke a feeling of looking at a picture, instead of typical car windows. Aside from that, the interior is unlike any other, because of the sheer space and size that it offers.

Additionally, the Cube’s headlights and taillights have been transferred above the bumpers. That’s because these lighting devices suffer the most serious damage during front-end collisions. That small tweak is enough to make sure that you won’t have to spend for new headlights every so often. The Cube also has an asymmetrical rear window in its right, which you won’t find when you look to the left.

Basically, the Nissan Cube gives you that exalted feeling when you see it, because it’s so small, but it’s still built to carry some serious cargo. It makes everyone interested, although not in a freaky way that a Smart forTwo or any other mini car would.

On the other hand, the specifications of the Nissan Cube is quite average, although you might find a few surprises. It has a 1.4-liter, four-cylinder that is capable of generating at least 95-horsepower. However, this small all-purpose vehicle is just a tad above 2000 lbs., which makes it really a lightweight in its class.

Despite of that limitation, the Nissan Cube is capable of carrying four adults all at once and has plenty of legroom to spare. Aside from that, you can put several hundred pounds of extra cargo and you’ll still be fine even if you’re driving on tough terrain. Also, its extremely fuel-efficient engine has still enough bounce for it to surge to 65 mph in the highway.

With its size, the Nissan Cube can fit in even small parking spaces and that means you won’t have to worry about Sunday afternoons when parking space is a luxury. The best side of the Nissan Cube is not its design but its MPG rating, which is pegged at 30 miles per gallon. For sure, you’ll save your precious money for something more important other than fuel.

You don’t have to deal with tiny spaces, miniature horsepower, and mediocre speed when you talk about green cars. Recently, Nissan launched what seems to be a topnotch hot rod that you can ever get and that’s the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid. As the name implies, this car doesn’t look like your typical hybrid car. In fact, it looks like it’s ready to just move through the speedway in full throttle and turn the road into dust. The fact is, it’s as fast as most sport cars out there and the catch is: it’s not going to ruin the atmosphere with its emissions.

Basically, the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid has the standard 2.5-liter engine and an electric supercharger that you can count on once you decide to go green. That’s not all, because it also has solar panels on the roof that can help you recharge the batteries anytime. The great thing about the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid is that it can compete with some faster rivals on the road. In fact, it’s scheduled to compete in the prestigious One Lap of America Race Series. Though far from being a Tesla Roadster, the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid can generate a whopping 440-horsepower and go as fast as 110 mph. If that’s not enough to convince you, it can go from 0-60 miles in only 12.9 seconds. With that being said, the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid is a solid choice if you want to go green without having to compromise power, speed, and space.

Nissan hasn’t yet released any information on how much the Nissan Altima Hot Rod Hybrid would cost, but it doesn’t seem to be significantly more expensive than non-hybrid cars out there.