The New Nissan LEAF
The Nissan LEAF is the top-selling electric car in history, and an all-new, second generation LEAF model is set to arrive soon! It has been about seven years since the Nissan LEAF electric car debuted in December 2010 (as a 2011 model), and now Nissan is ready for the launch of their re-designed, sophisticatedly improved second generation model.
With popular competitor cars, such as the Chevy Bolt and Tesla model 3, stealing Nissan’s thunder, a new LEAF is called for – and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has hinted that something big is on the horizon.
“Our electric cars have the world’s highest share of market, but maybe not the highest share of voice,’ Ghosn said. Adding that the ZOE “is not two, or three years down the road, it is now.”
That leaves us asking whether the revised LEAF is almost “now” too.
Nissan has previously announced that the improved LEAF will be fitted with their latest iteration of autonomous driving technology, better known as ProPilot. This allows the LEAF to have self-governing capabilities and fully autonomous drive functionality for single-lane highway driving, though the system’s magnitude is not fully clear just yet. Nissan plans to have full autonomous capable cars on the road by 2020.
There will be remarkable increases to the car’s driving range. We can expect a number closer to the 400KM mark. This allows the LEAF to better compete with the upcoming Tesla Model 3 and the anticipated onslaught of electric vehicles from the Volkswagen Group.
This next generation of the LEAF is presumed to be a more multifariously accomplished offering than the current model, skillfully arranged with the ability to take its energy from various sources. Whether that will be via fuel cell or pure electricity to the battery, or some other means. The reason for this according to Nissan, is to meet the needs of different customer markets.
Nissan has not set a date for the release of the new LEAF just yet, though a world premier is presumed to occur in the later stage of 2017.
The second-generation LEAF, following its forerunner that launched in 2010, demonstrates Nissan’s commitment to electric vehicle technology. With the South African electric vehicle market still being substantially smaller than overseas markets, unfortunately we do not envision seeing the new LEAF anytime soon. Be that as it may, we at Group1 Nissan, as a mega car dealership, always follow global automotive trends and has a heart for green issues and thus share relevant news with you, our Nissan fans.
