The next generation of the Nissan Leaf electric car is on the way with Nissan aiming for a 300-mile range
Nissan is well underway with development on an all-new Nissan Leaf, which could arrive as early as 2017 with a range of up to 300 miles.

“We will have a full model change of Leaf before the end of this decade,” Shiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President, and Chief Creative Officer at Nissan, revealed exclusively to Auto Express. “We are ready to increase the range, 250km is not the maximum.

“We want to make Leaf the major player in the EV market. We will have updates to the design, and we will be updating the batteries. We want to expand the possibilities as much as we can.”

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Matching the 500km range, which manufacturers such as Tesla and Audi have demonstrated, is also ‘not a technical problem, its cost,’ senior figures at Nissan also confirmed. A reduction in cost and increase in battery density will coincide with the arrival of the new Leaf, meaning a 300-mile range is not out of the question.

It’s likely Nissan will make a range of battery options available to buyers to help minimize the overall starting price of the model range, too.

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Nissan will also look to give the Leaf a more conventional look to help broaden its appeal: “For styling, how can I say, we make it look a little bit more mainstream, because we want to grow the number,” Nakamura told us. “It will be the same package, we don’t want to change the hatchback.

“While we improve the Leaf, at the same time the charging infrastructure is improving. In a coupe of years the advantage of an EV will be much better than today.”

auto express