Just as free shipping can be a fairly enticing offer to get buyers to purchase items online, electric car manufacturers may be turning to free charging to get sales of electric cars into the fast lane.
In select markets around the U.S., not surprisingly the ones where their electric cars are selling well, Nissan is offering free charging for up to two years for owners of the Nissan Leaf.
Calling the initiative "No Charge to Charge" Nissan is launching the promotion on July 1 of this year in 25 U.S. markets (markets that currently make up some 80 percent of Leaf sales) providing two years of no-cost public charging with the purchase or lease of a new Nissan LEAF.
"No Charge to Charge' and EZ-Charge are a winning combination, making public charging free and easy for new LEAF buyers," said Fred Diaz, senior VP Nissan Sales & Marketing, Aftersales, in a press release. "Public charging is an important way to provide added range confidence to EV buyers and persuade more shoppers to join the more than 110,000 LEAF drivers around the world."
The promotion will be available in several major cities along the West Coast, as well as Nashville, Houston, and Washington, D.C.
Electric cars sales in the U.S. were actually up a whopping 447.95 percent in 2013 compared to 2012 and show a 30 percent increase for combined sales of all-electric cars and hybrids, according to recent reports.
Sales of Tesla electric cars led the way as they sold over 13,000 models compared to just 1690 in 2012 as the Telsa Model S is doing well. The Nissan Leaf also had a big year in 2013 selling over 22,000 cars compared to just over 5,000 in 2012.
However, early Q1, 2014 sales for 2014 have seen a dip in electric car sales as the disappearance of year-end bargains and the extremely cold weather put a dent in the 2013 momentum.
Let's see if the offer a "free charging" helps zaps sales back to 2013 gains.
