A pricing war with aggressive incentives and cheap lease deals has changed all that.  

Last year, Nissan sold about half the number of Leafs it had anticipated, marking two years in a row of disappointing sales for the electric car pioneer. One of the factors holding the Leaf back from appealing to the masses has been the upfront price premium drivers have had to pay for the cars, when compared with similar vehicles that run on plain old gas.

But in early 2013, Nissan tried to cut the knees out from this part of the anti-EV argument.