We are currently bombarded on television with the latest advertisements for this year's electric cars. Something of a new venture for most car manufacturers in lowering carbon emissions launches the new eco-friendly cars that run on electricity. How reflective is the name in conveying its cost effectiveness and affordability in the long term?
The new Nissan electric car has been given the name of 'Leaf'. Whereas some electric cars such as Vauxhall's Ampera reflect the dictionary of electricity terms in their name; the Leaf conveys environmentally-friendliness, instantly conjuring the colour green to our thoughts to highlight its ecological advancement. Car titles have been around for a long while and are normally created in the form of a name, unlike a code such as the Audi series i.e. A7, A3.
When asked "what car do you drive?" - advertisements have already 'painted' an image with the selected car. For years car manufacturer Skoda had a reputation for providing cheap and affordable cars, with a basic specification and not much style - reflecting the boring style of the driver. So when awarding a title to a car, image and ego go hand in hand.
If you declared that you owned a Leaf, you may be portrayed as an Eco-warrior type bucking the trend for carbon pumping 4 x 4 SUVs. You may also be thought of as innovative for braving a no fuel car - will it run out of charge?
Finlo Rohrer confirms this in his electric car name article for the BBC News magazine on-line "Why an Ampera or a Leaf?", saying that "electric cars become increasingly ecological propositions." This is due to the 100% electric charge that is created by feeding back energy to the battery when the driver of a Leaf car steps on the brakes. For £23,990 you can own a Nissan Leaf which has been crowned this year's 'Car of the Year 2011'. It claims to take 5 people 100 miles on 1 full charge. But even containing a government subsidy, £23,990 is still not affordable to the average person on the street.
A recent KPMG survey reported on 9th January this year, by the BBC News channel, maintains that "electric cars will be affordable without government subsidies." Ironically the Leaf already has a subsidy of £5,000 and it still 'leaves' (excuse the pun) Joe Public unable to afford such a huge amount for a small car. The survey also stated that "(they) do not foresee reasonably priced cars being available on the mass market in the next five years."
I perceive that the market will not get a jump-start for a few years yet. The general public will sit back and wait to see what occurs in this niche market rather than stump up now to join the electricity generated campaign and get hoodwinked into a similar demise of the doomed Sinclair C5 vehicle calamity a few decades ago.
The newly launched 'i' newspaper from the Independent Newspaper team related this trepidation on 19th January 2011. Its summary "Nissan failing to turn over many new Leafs", declares that Nissan has only delivered a small percentage of the Leaf despite having orders for over 6,000. Nissan attributes the slow pace "to the need for careful work in the manufacturing process but denied there were any delays." So with a nervous buyer market and lack of understanding how ecological the Leaf car will be, the car name not only reflects a positive image but how dried up the market could be before it has already got started.
Naming new vehicle models used to be key in attracting the right type of buyer. The future of the car market seems reliant now on what is offered by the manufacturer in order to reduce the costs of owning a car these days. Seven year car warranties and free road fund licence for two years are more attractive than the name. If electric cars are to make headway in this expensive arena, then I suggest that reducing the price further, coupled with further incentives, may tease the tentative car driver from out under their leaf.
Jo Sidwells - After many years experience writing for in-house magazines and newsletters within large corporate companies, I now enjoy being at home ...
Join the Conversation