I tend to agree. Used to be a front runner in EV. Now very much an after thought. All happened because Zero emission EV vehicles were the master plan of their CEO Carlos Ghosn who was either framed or actually did commit mass financial fraud depending who you believe.
As a UK Nissan Leaf owner I’ll explain, they basically have given up on existing customers. They don’t really care about us anymore. The app works okay and does the bare minimum but it is clunky and slow. They have a new app for all models over 2019 or 2020 and it works better and is significantly easier for them to update and maintain.
The 3G service in the UK will go first as the 2G service provides a lot of emergency failover. The 2G network has around 10 years of service left and even then will probably be left on longer.
They want rid of as many old app users as possible so they can save money on server and development costs, the problem is that even modern 2018 Leaf version still uses the crappy app and have 3G cellular which will fall back to the 2G side when the 3G goes (before the 2G cellular is fazed out) so to blame it on 2G is disingenuous as they still have to support the app for the 3G models and still have to use those on the 2G network as the 3G will go first. I looked at upgrading the module to a 3G or 4G but there is no point because even if you do that they are pulling the app functionality for the car rather than the signal.
There is an ODB add on by open vehicles that will restore the service and is actually loads better but is a bit of a janky hack. https://www.openvehicles.com/ we may do this if we really miss the functionality and desire a £250 solution with a £2 monthly connection fee. We shall see.
So Nissan maybe not evil. But certainly not being honest and transparent.
It’s the latter. The 2G network will continue for a long time to come. The shame is that even a late 2018 model still uses that old app too and uses 3G cellular. So they will lose their primary network service and fall back into the 2G network mode before the pre 2016 models lose their 2G connectivity.
Personally being an owner I wouldn’t buy one, there are plenty of other electrics that are great. I did buy a newer version and sold it very quickly to buy a better car.
Don’t get me wrong I love my leaf and it has done 65k miles and is still going strong even at 11 years old, but they are really lagging behind in tech compared to others. It’s like they got to 2015 and just stopping developing. They use a rapid charger that is fast disappearing in the UK (chademo) so long journeys or a quick top up are getting harder. If you want a cheap car to do 40-60 miles max a day for commuting then they are a great deal and cheap to own and run. 2 pence a mile for home charging at night. But for more than that maybe spend a little more or look at a Zoe or something else.
Their newer versions are expensive in comparison to competitors and to still be using the exact system as the 2012 models but with new body covering is just a bit sad. They were a front runner that just never kept developing.
Well this isn’t really true. The 2G network won’t be shut down for another 6-10 years. They are using it as an excuse to turn off their servers and save some money without supporting people they have already taken money from.
Ah yes. Lay claim to someone’s domain even though they had the company name first and you were sloppy. But you are big and think you can just bully your way through life.