Sit down and take a deep breath, EV fans. The Nissan Leaf electric car will cost $32,780 when it rolls into showrooms in December. Add in the federal EV tax credit, and the bottom line is $25,280, a price that makes the Leaf competitive with the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius.

Nissan announced the price today and said it starts taking reservations for the Leaf electric car April 20. The five-passenger hatchback sports a 23 kilowatt-hour lithium-manganese battery that's good for a claimed 100 miles and recharges in eight hours. The Japanese automaker plans to crank out 50,000 Leafs in 2011. With some 85,000 "hand-raisers" expressing interest in getting one, some EV advocates believe Nissan's priced the car so competitively it could have trouble meeting demand.

"I think it's an excellent price," said Paul Scott, a founder and board member of the EV advocacy group Plug-In America. "I think Nissan is going to have a hard time keeping them on the showroom floor, especially in states that have additional tax credits. In California, it's going to be a hell of a bargain at $20,028. They've really nailed it. It's very, very affordable."

We must note that these prices are for the United States only, and Nissan is offering the Leaf for sale or lease only as a complete package. It is not leasing the battery separately from the car here in the United States, though it might do so elsewhere.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has been among the loudest EV evangelists and is determined to make Nissan a player in the field. The company almost certainly is taking a loss on the Leaf, just as Toyota did with the Prius, in a bid to grab as big a chunk of the market as possible before cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Ford Focus EV appear, Scott said.

"They're probably banking on battery costs coming down," Scott said. "And they will come down."

MSRP is but one part of the equation. Operating cost is the other variable, and on that score Honda and Toyota should be worried. Nissan's priced the Leaf cheaper than the Civic and Prius once you've figured in energy costs.

"Lifecycle ownership costs of the Leaf over five years is $28,180 versus a Civic at $28,338 and the Prius at $29,358," said Trisha Jung, chief marketing manager for the Leaf. "That's the cost of the vehicle, the cost of the charging station and the cost of the electricity."

A word on the math: Nissan figured electricity costs at 11.64 cents per kilowatt-hour and gasoline at $2.94 a gallon and assumes you drive 12,000 miles a year. The purchase price come down further if you include the tax credits or rebates several states offer. California and Georgia, for example, offer a $5,000 tax credit.

Nissan says the numbers work out in the Leaf's favor if you lease one, too. Although Nissan gets the federal EV tax credit because it actually owns the car, it will pass it along to consumers as an incentive. Sign a 36-month lease and put $1,999 down, and your monthly payment will be $349.

"If you include the energy costs, it works out to $408 a month for the Leaf, $414 a month for the Civic and $389 a month for the Prius," Jung said.

That's for the base "SL" model, which includes, among other features, a navigation system that identifies local charging stations and smartphone connectivity that lets you activate and monitor charging and other functions remotely. Another $940 gets you the "SL" model that adds, among other things, a backup camera and a solar panel on the rear spoiler that trickle-charges the battery running the radio and other accessories.

The 220-volt charging station you'll need to keep the car going will cost you about $2,200, but that includes the installation. A federal tax credit will cover half the cost, said Dave Mingle, Nissan's senior director for customer management and business strategy. Later this summer, customers who reserve a Leaf through the Leaf website can schedule an in-home assessment. EV infrastructure company Aerovironment will send an electrician to your house to provide an estimate, line up the permits and install the charger.

"We expect the average cost to be $2,200," Mingle said. "That's all in – it includes the charging station and full installation."

If you live along the Interstate 5 corridor in Oregon or in Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix-Tuscon or east-central Tennessee, you could get a free charger. The Department of Energy has awarded Etec a grant to install as many as 1,200 charging stations in each of those five markets through a program called the EV Project. Of course, you'll have to share your charging data with the the feds to help plan a broader charging infrastructure.

Nissan starts taking reservations for the Leaf on April 20. Paying $99 (refundable if you change your mind) buys you a place in line when Nissan starts building the cars in September. The first cars roll into showrooms in December and will be available in the five markets of the EV Project plus the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Nissan plans to offer the car nationwide by the end of 2011.

Still no word on what kind of warranty the car or the battery will have. Nissan promises to announce that before April 20.

CORRECTED: Nissan says that the Leaf will have a five-passenger capacity, not four, as this story stated earlier.

Photos: Jon Snyder / Wired.com

See Also: