Summary
- Nissan’s pride and denial hindered merger talks, sources say
- Honda pushed Nissan for deeper cuts to jobs, factory capacity, sources say
- Nissan unwilling to consider factory closures, sources say
- Honda’s proposal to make Nissan a subsidiary caused tensions, sources say
Except the chevy volt is cheaper and has a longer range. Nissan has also done nothing with battery tech or chemistry. That’s all been being advanced by Samsung, toyota and panasonic. There’s nothing the leaf has to offer on a technology front, and there’s no reason to buy one today. Even a decade ago it was a poor choice for 95% of the US market.
Right, which is why I said they should’ve focused on price and reliability. They’re not going to lead on battery tech, so they should experiment with things like sodium ion batteries, which are much cheaper, have less fire risk, and they don’t need the range anyway for a commuter/around town car.
Find a niche and fill it.
Sodium ion is a dead end for ev. Heavy and not even remotely close to energy dense enough. It never will be.
I thought it was something like 75% as energy dense? If you’re targeting a commuter with a max needed range of 150 miles, it seems more than sufficient.
It’s not going to solve the range anxiety problem, but it’s inexpensive, which is perfect for a cheap, around-town second car, which is precisely what the Leaf should be.