by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Electricity will be the only fuel for the Nissan LEAF and dealerships across the country are being equipped to refuel the new model.
Jacksonville’s Mike Shad Nissan has two charging docks, one each at its Cassat Avenue and Blanding Boulevard locations, and Coggin Nissan of The Avenues plans to have four docks installed.
“There has been a lot of interest in the car,” said David Surguine, general manager of the Coggin dealership.
“We are installing two charging stations near our car-wash area for customers, one in the delivery area and another in repair shop,” he said.
The LEAF was voted “2011 World Car of the Year” at the New York International Auto Show and Nissan is touting it as the world’s first mass-marketed electric vehicle.
The Chevy Volt uses a combination of electric and gas engines to power its vehicle and the Ford Focus Electric will be powered by an electric engine, but it is due to hit the showroom late this year.
The 2012 LEAF SV has a suggested retail price of $35,200 before tax incentives and it is built to drive 100 miles on a single charge, depending on driving conditions.
Nissan planned to have the infrastructure in place to support the vehicles before they were released in the U.S. and the reservation process for the 2012 Leaf opened July 25 in Florida.
The automobile manufacturer charges a $99 placeholder fee for the reservation, but it is refundable if a customer decides not to purchase.
The “typical newer home installation” for a charging dock would cost about $2,000, plus a permit and taxes, according to Nissan. The installation of the 240 volt dedicated circuit is handled by California-based AeroVironment.
Though not currently concerned with the electric vehicles draining power capacity, JEA plans to keep an eye on the emerging market.
“As we watch electric car development, we realize that it will be some years before any real infrastructure is needed. It is JEA’s intent to monitor the growth of vehicle penetration into this market and ensure that our infrastructure supports the market requirements,” said JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce.
Nissan predicts there will be more than 13,000 charging stations operating by 2012.
The local utility also will monitor electric vehicle usage to gauge interest in public charging stations.
Boyce said that research indicates the majority of electric vehicle owners will charge their vehicles at home, citing an Electric Power Research Institute study that said 96 percent of owners would do so.
She said there were three levels of charging: Level 1 — 120 volt, 8-10 hours; Level 2 –– 240 volt, 2-4 hours; Level 3 — DC, direct current, 30 minutes.
Boyce said most owners have indicated they will install Level 2 charging at their homes, “and it is our intent to monitor this impact to our electric system.”
She said JEA does not have any immediate plans to install or own any public charging stations, “but we are monitoring this trend as well and having conversations with other utilities regarding this subject.”
The LEAF was available in select markets by the end of 2010, with 4,800 models produced. The reservation process for the 2012 models is open and Nissan has received about 20,000 reservations for the first phase.
The second phase of reservations recently began and was open to customers in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
Buying a LEAF takes several steps. Nissan said a car can be reserved through the Nissan website, www.nissanusa.com. A buyer can set up a home charging dock assessment, for the $100 fee; then order the car, have the charging dock installed followed by purchase and delivery.
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