On Monday, Nissan Canada opened up the online registration process at leaf.nissan.ca to consumers who hadn’t signed up to receive e-info on the Leaf, after 350 of the advanced 2012 EVs were ordered by those on the e-list. Prospective owners will need to pay a $99 refundable reservation fee on the site, and then book a home assessment for an electric vehicle 240V charger, which will cost anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500 installed, depending on the charger model and the layout and wiring of your home. From there, customers can request quotes from local dealers, who will handle negotiations over financing, leasing and trade-ins.

Don’t expect Nissan’s holiday incentives or low interest rates offered on some other Nissans on your Leaf, however. One Toronto dealer quoted a 6.9 per cent finance rate up to 60 months, or 5.9 per cent on a lease recently. Opening up the buying process beyond keen early adopters should at least help buyers acquire a little haggling room, especially if you lease or finance through them at these rates.

One perk of financing a Leaf through Nissan: the dealer will discount the provincial rebate directly from the purchase price. Otherwise, the buyer may have to apply to the Ontario government directly for the $8,500 rebate ($8,000 in Quebec, and a newly minted $5,000 one in British Columbia), Nissan acknowledges, where repayment takes about three weeks, according to the province.

At the same time, a Morgan Stanley study has slashed its prediction for EV penetration by 2025, now predicting electric vehicles will make up 4.6 per cent of the market, instead of its previously expected 8.6 per cent. The forecast cited a likely reduction in European government EV subsidies, an increase in internal combustion fuel economy, as well as lower than expected global sales, as customers discover their promised range (160 km for the Leaf) could be cut in half by cold weather, regular highway driving and hilly terrain.