The Nissan Leaf has always been one of the least expensive EVs on the market, but the 2022 model goes even further. Nissan has lowered the starting sales price to $27,400, making it the cheapest EV on sale in the U.S.

This news is a big deal because it not only boosts the Leaf's existing popularity, but could affect the entire EV industry. In fact, such a low price would help solve one of the biggest problems in the electric vehicle industry.

There are several reasons why people are hesitant to purchase EVs over gasoline vehicles. Much focus has been placed on charging infrastructure and range, but pricing remains a major concern; there are many EVs under $40,000, but in general, EVs are still more expensive than gasoline cars.

For example, the Nissan Micra. On the other hand, the cheapest Leaf costs 25,995 pounds, almost 12,000 pounds more. Similarly, the Ford F-150 Lightning will go on sale next year in the US for $39,974, while the gasoline-powered F-150 is over $10,000 cheaper at $29,990. [Of course, most of the price difference between EVs and gasoline-powered cars is due to the high cost of lithium batteries. This problem will improve over time, but for now it means that buying a brand new EV is expensive. [I previously argued that Tesla releasing a $25,000 hatchback would be great for the EV industry. The idea is that by releasing a car with all of Tesla's standard features at such a low price, other automakers will be forced to follow suit to compete.

Clearly, Nissan decided that it should lower its entry costs now, rather than wait for Tesla to enter the market first. And it wasn't just the entry-level Nissan LEAF S that enjoyed a price cut. All variants of the Nissan LEAF have seen even bigger price cuts, with the most expensive LEAF SL Plus coming in at just $37,400. This is $2,500 less than the Tesla Model 3.

Of course, this doesn't even begin to take into account the federal tax credits you may be able to claim. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy has made the LEAF eligible for a $7,500 federal tax refund, which would bring the purchase cost of the 2022 LEAF (excluding taxes, licenses, and fees) to just under $20,000.

This new price change means that the 2022 LEAF will be cheaper than the Mini Electric, the traditional "cheapest" EV in the US, which starts at $29,900. In fact, the Mini Electric has a range of only 114 miles on a single charge, which makes it look quite disadvantageous in comparison. In contrast, the Leaf's 40 kWh model has an EPA range of 149 miles, while the 62 kWh model has a range of 226 miles.

In other words, the LEAF is a much better bargain, especially now that Nissan has corrected a terrible mistake and equipped the cheapest model with a 50kW CHAdeMO fast charger as standard. However, the 2022 Leaf still uses the CHAdeMO charger instead of the more common CCS. That means Nissan remains a major proponent of the ailing charging standard in the U.S.

Don't get me wrong, $27,500 is still a decent amount, if not cheaper than some of the more luxurious cars on the road. But by lowering the price in this way, Nissan has made the 2022 LEAF more attractive.

This is exactly what the EV industry needs: low prices that give people enough incentive to choose electricity over gas. And if one company tries to beat its competitors on price, other EV makers are sure to take notice. It would not be surprising to see other EV makers make similar price cuts in the coming months.

Furthermore, encouraging the purchase of new electric vehicles will likely have an impact on the used car market. The used car industry is huge and makes owning a car much more affordable than buying a new car every time. The only problem is that good used EVs are hard to find.

However, more EVs on the road means that those cars will eventually end up in used car dealerships across the US. This, in turn, is a move that will make EVs more accessible to an entirely new market.

It will take time, but Nissan has just taken the first major step toward making it happen. The Nissan LEAF 2022 is expected to be available by the end of the year, although the exact date is not known.