Any business owner knows that you have to make money to stay in business. Big or small, if you don’t have customers, you can’t pull a profit.
Nissan has been trying to find a way to stay above the pack since it hit a business slump in the 1990’s. Since this turn they have worked extremely hard to develop the next generation of vehicle. In drives the Leaf.
A new company, ‘Plugless Power’ has already designed a device that will sit below the vehicle to charge your Nissan Leaf from the outside. The concept is not terribly new, with cell phone chargers that you can lay your phone on, but the concept is certainly new to the automotive market. The first three vehicles to offer this standard in charging are the Nissan Leaf, Cadillac ELR and the Chevy Volt.
According to a Nissan engineer, his company is working to increase the power of the current wireless charging system. “3 kW is not enough, so we’re focusing on higher power,” he said. The company’s goal is to increase the power to 7 kW.
The Leaf can still be plugged in so running around town will not stop you from charging the battery. The company offers an 3 year warranty and a 45 day (for whatever reason) return policy. However, an 8+ year rating, means this charger will probably last you for quite some time before needing to be replaced and the cost of a little less than $200 per month may be a better way to swallow the pill.
“Whether products with technology that appeals to consumers can be offered in a timely manner will determine the winners and the losers,” said Nissan’s Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, in Japanese at Atsugi, Kanagawa. Nissan is certainly trying to find a way to address the issue of new technology for its consumers.
This technology is simple, as you can read here, the vehicle is parked above the sensor and the induction coil on the underside of the vehicle will collect electromagnetic currents generated by the sensor. One drawback for people to be aware of is the fact that you have to have the ability to park well. Parking well is very important, because the car must be aligned properly to charge. Other than that, it seems like a pretty easy decision for those that may happen to forget the plug from time to time.
