Leaf Hype?

Marketing vs Physics Nissan hasn't disclosed the weight of the car, with out batteries. Li-on Battery Pack – costs 10K but is leased by the consumer Weighs 200 KG with energy density of 140 watt hours per KG  so that’s 28 KWH Official spec is 24 KWH ??? 100 Mile Free range on 24 KWH (!)

Reality Check Claims to seat 4-5 adults Nissan projects the car's total weight will be similar to that of a comparable gas car Okay, this makes it like a Prius which weighs 3000 lbs +500 Lbs of batteries 24 KWH equivalent to 24/35 (2/3) gallons 100/2/3 = 150 MPG Equivalent (for a 3500 lb vehicle)

Is 150 MPG feasible? Efficiency of an electric motor is 70% Efficiency of an ICE is significantly lower, which highest values of about 25% So EV is 2.8 times more efficient at delivering stored energy to mechanical energy (to make the vehicle move) So 150 mpg is 150/2.8 = 54 mpg which is more resonable but still high (by 20-25%)

Bottom Line Vehicle Energy requirements depend on vehicle mass (physics) and distances driven (culture). All EVs should have very similar kwh/mile per mass numbers  this is the reality check Vehicle masses similar between many EVs and gasoline cars that get 35 mpg (i.e lbs) Therefore EVs need to be priced comparable to gasoline equivalent cars and not significantly higher unless the price of gasoline becomes very high