4 hours ago
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A 2016 Nissan Leaf car
Nissan Leaf electric car owners have accused the company of “abandoning its pioneers” after it announced its app would no longer work for older vehicles.
The company says the app, which allows remote control of features such as heating, is being discontinued because the UK's 2G network is shut down.
But customers reacted angrily and told the BBC they had not expected a withdrawal.
Experts believe the problem will affect more electric vehicles as the market grows.
The withdrawal of the app affects around 3,000 Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 vehicles manufactured before 2016.
These older vehicles are equipped with 2G control units that communicate with the app.
Nissan told the BBC: “The NissanConnect EV app, currently linked to Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 vehicles produced up to 2016, will be available from April 1, 2024 in preparation for the end of 2G technology set.”
It added: “However, owners will still be able to use key features such as the climate control timer and charging timer directly from their car's navigation system.”
Affected drivers have expressed their disappointment to the BBC – among other things because mobile operators will only phase out 2G at the end of the decade.
“I was very surprised,” said Max Siegieda, owner of a 2013 Nissan Leaf in Manchester.
“I would have expected at least six months, 12 months or something like that to arrange alternatives. That’s a key feature of the car that’s going away.”
He said the app's remote access to features such as heating the car or remote charging at cheaper times was “a key selling point” when he bought the car used in 2022.
He had already considered upgrading, but now says he would be “hesitant” to buy another Nissan “because they didn't give enough notice about the app shutdown.”
David Morris, who owns a 2014 Nissan Leaf, received an email Wednesday saying his app will stop working next month.
“When you buy a car you expect to get at least 10 years of support for it,” he told BBC News.
“Would I buy from this manufacturer again if they don't support it in the long term? I’m not sure,” Mr. Morris said.
Although this problem only affects a relatively small number of drivers, experts believe that many more vehicle owners will face similar problems in the future.
Dr. Benjamin Gorman, a lecturer at Bournemouth University, said Nissan “really should have built in some sort of backwards compatibility” so that the car could still connect by plugging in a phone or via Bluetooth, adding that “the design is poor is”.
But he said that in the future, other electric vehicle owners will also have to expect that as the technology evolves, their software will eventually lose functionality and companies will stop releasing updates.
He also pointed to broader trends in the industry, such as some automakers starting to charge a monthly subscription fee for access to additional features such as apps.
“I think it's going to be a much broader issue as manufacturers essentially increasingly move to selling hardware as a service,” said Dr. Gorman.
However, Sam Sheehan, automotive editor at automaker Cinch, said it was important to keep the issue in perspective because this case had a lot to do with the Leaf being a trailblazer.
“It was originally the only mass-market electric vehicle [electric vehicle] is for sale, which means the connected software used is very old,” he told the BBC.
Mr Sheehan predicts that while newer cars will eventually lose functionality as technology advances, they are likely to last “much, much longer than the old technology of the first Leaf”.