Chevy’s Lineup of EV Cars Dethrones the Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is the Japanese automaker’s all-electric hatchback, and has been a popular choice among green car shoppers since it was released in December of 2010. LEAF, or Leading Environmentally-Friendly Affordable Family car, offers a range of up to 107 miles on a single charge, and its sporty hatchback design appeals to a wide range of drivers. By the end of 2016, just six years after its initial release, the Nissan Leaf had sold more than 250,000 units, making it the all-time best-selling electric car in the world. That is – until now

The Shift in Electric Vehicle Sales

The rise in gasoline prices was certainly a major catalyst for the expansion of the all-electric vehicle market, but there were plenty of other factors at play as well. With the Green Movement also gaining momentum in recent years, car shoppers found solace in both their wallets and collective conscience by switching over to all-electric and hybrid vehicles.

Up until recently, the same car buyers who yearned for a “greener” vehicle found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock being their desire for an environmentally-friendly car, and the hard place being the limited electric range that these pioneer nameplates had to offer. Up until the Chevy Bolt was introduced in late 2016, the long-range all-electric models were sold by Tesla – a brand which was unreachable to many drivers on a financial level. The Chevy Bolt not only delivered an impressive EV range of 238 miles on a single charge, it also managed to do so at a reasonably affordable price. Coming in well under the $30,000 mark, after government tax incentives, it is easy to see how the 2017 Chevy Bolt helped to dethrone the Nissan Leaf as the best-selling electric car on the market.

All Leaves Eventually Fall

Much like the leaves on the trees here in Cincinnati turn from green to red before eventually falling to the ground, so has the Leaf in the Nissan lineup. The electric hatchback may have served an important role in making EV options more affordable to the masses, but the arrival of the Chevy Bolt heralded a new EV king in town.

The very first month that the Bolt was available for purchase, it was only sold in California and Oregon. Despite this geographical roadblock, Chevrolet managed to sell nearly 580 units in that first month of availability alone. By the end of January 2017, in the Bolt’s second month on the market, the long-range electric car surpassed the Nissan Leaf for the number of units sold here in the United States. Total January sales numbers of the Bolt reached 1,162 units, while Nissan managed to peddle just 772 Leaf models in the same time period. The Leaf’s January sales numbers did increase by 2.3% from the same time the year before, while Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid Volt saw a 62% increase from January of last year, selling just over 1,600 units in the first month of 2017.

The Nissan Leaf may have enjoyed the top spot as the best-selling plug-in electric car in the world in 2013 and 2014, but it is clear that shoppers in this segment want something more. More than the Leaf’s outdated styling and interior appointments are able to offer, and more flexibility in all-electric range capability that the Leaf simply cannot deliver.

3 Reasons to Buy the Chevy Bolt Over the Nissan Leaf

There are so many great reasons why you should purchase a 2017 Chevy Bolt, rather than the outdated and uninspiring Nissan Leaf. In spite of this fact, and in an effort to save time, we managed to narrow down our list to the top three reasons why drivers are letting the Leaf fall to the ground, and bolting into the future behind the wheel of the all-electric Chevrolet.

• Extended Range: This is the most obvious reason why the 2017 Bolt is the preferred choice over the 2017 Nissan Leaf. While the 2017 Bolt boasts a total all-electric range of 238 miles, the Leaf falls short with an all-electric range of just 107 miles. That right there is 131 reasons why the Bolt is superior to the Leaf, and is the number one reason why Nissan’s all-electric car is falling to the wayside in terms of sales and popularity.

• Better Standard Features: The Bolt may cost a few thousand more up front, but between its extended range capabilities and the extensive list of included features – the Bolt is the obvious choice over the Leaf. The standard base Bolt LT model boasts one of the most stunning driver information displays we have ever seen, and is 8 inches of color touchscreen perfection. The base Nissan Leaf also includes a display, but it falls short at a minuscule 5 inches, and does not offer touchscreen capabilities. Other included amenities featured on the base Bolt LT model, which are not included on the standard Leaf EV are Teen Driver technology, steering-wheel mounted hands-free phone controls, 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot capability, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a digital speedometer, and so much more. The suite of basic standard features is so extensive, we would be here all day listing them for you to read. Simply put – the 2017 Bolt outshines the 2017 Leaf in the standard amenities department in nearly every possible way.

• Enhanced Safety Technology: When we mentioned that the Nissan Leaf is in desperate need of updating, we meant it. Nissan’s EV offers very basic safety features, such as a traction control system, curtain side airbags, zone body construction, and vehicle dynamic control. Noticeably absent from this all-electric car are critical safety technologies that the 2017 Bolt not only offers, but includes standard on the upper trim level. Safety tech, such as lane departure warning, rear camera mirror, surround vision, rear cross traffic alert, side blind zone alert, and forward collision alert – make the 2017 Bolt one of the safest vehicles on the road, EV or otherwise.

It’s easy to see on paper why the 2017 Bolt has instantly outsold the 2017 Nissan Leaf EV. While both cars offer the same end goal of decreasing our carbon footprint and padding our wallets – it’s hard to argue with the fact that Chevy’s EV simply does it better.