LEAF Roper

I leased a 2012 cayenne-red Nissan LEAF SL on 7 May 2012. I drove demos for ~600 miles before my LEAF came in 4 months after I ordered. LEAF Roper now has over 12,000 miles on it. I live in Blacksburg VA. I have a web page about LEAF Roper.

About 98% of the time I charge it using a Schneider charging station in our garage. I converted the portable EVSE to handle 240-volts and 16 amps. I had 240-volts receptacles at both of my daughter’s houses, one in Roanoke VA ~36 miles away.

Blacksburg currently has 9 level-2 public charging stations, 7 of which can be used at no cost. Roanoke has 2, 1 of which can be used at no cost, but the Mayor has told me that 2 more will soon be in place.

I previously owned a 2005 Prius and converted it to a Hymotion plug-in in 2009. My granddaughter now drives it. I have a web page about the Prius conversion.

Recently I converted our 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid to a Plug-In-Systems plug it. I have a web page about the Highlander conversion.

Also, I have an electric-assisted bicycle. I have a web page about the bicycle.

Hi Roperld

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

I would be interested to hear when you think EVs will go mass market as you obviously have a great interest in them.

Regards,

Mark

I forgot to mention that I drove a ZAP PK electric pickup from 2007 to 2010. I tried to convert it from lead-acid batteries to Li-ion batteries, but gave up and gave the ZAP away. I have a detailed web page about it.

It depends on how one defines “mass market”. If the current market penetration of hybrids is the definition, given that plug-ins (PIs) are moving into the market about twice as fast as hybrids did, I make the following estimate:

It has taken about a dozen years for hybrids to get where they are now, so it should take about 6 years for PIs to get to that point. However, the current fast rise in the price of oil (from ~$95 to ~$105 in the last month), the new 54.5 mpg regulation and the rapid progress in battery and EV technology, it might occur less than 6 years. I am looking forward to the options I will have in 2015 when my LEAF lease is up.

Hi Roperld

You might find the following article and graph of interest:-

US Department of Energy compares EV sales to hybrids

It shows the relative sales position of EVs and Hybrids in their early years.

Regards,

Mark

Yes, that curve is the basis for my statement that PEV sales are about twice hybrid sales were during their early years.