Japanese carmaker Nissan is planning to launch a battery replacement program in the US for its LEAF customers who want to change their original lithium-ion battery pack.
Scheduled to start by the first half of 2014, the replacement will work in order with the Nissan standard battery warranty for LEAF including five-year, 60,000 mile coverage against battery capacity loss and 8 years, 100,000 miles against defects.
Nissan Electric Vehicle Sales and Marketing director Erik Gottfried said the company anticipates that the great majority of its current LEAF drivers will never need this battery replacement option.
"Technology is evolving and battery prices are projected to decline as EVs become increasingly mainstream," Gottfried said.
"Therefore, this new battery program today affords more flexibility for the future so that customers can both upgrade to the latest available technology for their LEAF and enjoy more predictable vehicle operating costs."
The program will cover all LEAF batteries under the terms of standard battery coverage, which is a part of Nissan New Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty and see that the vehicles maintain at least nine bars capacity.