The big news today is that I got an email from Nissan saying that my LEAF will be delivered to my dealer sometime in the next seven days!
Before I get too excited, I've read on the MyNissanLeaf forum that this seven day notification really means that SOMETHING is going to happen some time in the next three to fourteen days.
After almost a year from the time I paid my $99 to reserve the right to order a LEAF, it is apparently here in the country.
Of course, the disruption in Japan due to the tragic earthquake and tsunami and the unbelievable loss of life have disrupted the production and shipping of any new Nissan cars since March 10. Again, as I've said before, something physical like a car is insignificant compared to the tragedy and loss being suffered by so many families in Japan. We're donating to Habitat for Humanity's efforts to help with the loss of housing there and I recommend that everyone who is able does the same.
That said, we go on with our lives. So there are a lot of future LEAF owners here in the US who are wondering whether their cars were on ships on March 9 or if they are still in production or waiting to be shipped. Industries both in Japan and here and in other countries are suffering uncertainties and also the definite knowledge that parts supply will be disrupted. Of course, any single missing part in a product prevents the entire assembly from being finished and shipped.
For my own situation, I called my dealer and they really don't know any more than I do, so I am closely watching my Nissan web page for any updates and waiting for a call from my dealer.
The delivery estimate on my "dashboard" on the Nissan web page has been amusing to watch. The estimate has varied every couple of days and the range of variation has been comical, anywhere between March 30 and April 12.
If anything concrete happens related to my delivery, I'll post here.
Orders from September Through November are Being Passed Over in Favor of Later Orders
As happy as I am that there is definite movement on my own LEAF, I'm reading that there is a group of customers who reserved their cars on the first available day, April 20, 2010, and who were able to order in September through November whose cars are in limbo or definitely delayed while customers who reserved in May and later and ordered in January or February are getting specific delivery date estimates.
Something is going on within Nissan's order and shipping system that is causing some customers' cars to leapfrog ahead of those of others. This may not sound too terrible, but we are talking about people who have been waiting for their cars for almost a year, and there are limited government rebate funds at risk.
I really hope that Nissan can listen to the concerns of these customers and resolve the issues, especially in light of the unavoidable delays in future shipments caused by the tragic events in Japan.
Edit and Update:
A customer on the MyNissanLeaf forum whose order appears to have been leapfrogged was able to talk to someone with information within Nissan today and he was satisfied with the response that Nissan is aware of what is occurring and is working to resolve the issues. The most interesting new information that was shared was "Most of the "outlying" delivery notices that we have seen here for orders in Jan. & Feb. were the result of a communication error by a vendor processing the wrong batch of information, I was told, and they are in the process of rectifying this."
It was also revealed that the disasters in Japan are having far reaching effects on Nissan's North America's ability to use the corporate systems to obtain production and scheduling information.