Nissan targets 'pragmatists' to buy its electric Leaf

With more a year in the market, the Nissan Leaf all-electric car has pretty much run through the early adopters. Now, the Japanese automaker plans to focus on marketing to "pragmatists," people who will see the dollars-and-sense benefits of driving one, a top executive said today.

The push will especially important now that Leaf production is moving from Japan to the U.S. There will be a lot more Leafs -- Leaves? -- that need to be sold, said Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer.

With an EPA-rated range of 73 miles before it needs a recharge and a price of more than $33,000, the Leaf has been bought by EV fans. But now needs to break into the mainstream and Palmer says he can make the case. He notes less than a third of European commuters drive less than 62 miles a day.

"Pragmatists" will see the Leaf can save them money based on their commuting habits, Palmer says. They don't care that much if the car isn't all that great looking and have no great need to show off to their neighbors. It's not about the car being an environmental. It's about it being a practical solution to basic transportation.

When Leafs are being built in Tennessee, Nissan will finally get the economies of scale to make the Leaf more profitable. "There's no reason, though the life cycle of Leaf, why we shouldn't have a profitable car," Palmer said at the Electric Car Symposium in Los Angeles, EVS26. "We needed economies of scale. I see no reason why shouldn't be profitable."

Pragmatists, a group that includes a lot of engineers, tend to travel a lot, Palmer says. As such, Nissan is putting ads up in airports around the world for Leaf to reach them.