The long-range Nissan Leaf was recently snapped at a charging station and now the automaker has revealed new details about the upcoming model.
In an interview with Autoguide, Nissan’s director of EV Marketing and Sales Strategy confirmed the car will be called the Leaf E-Plus and it will arrive in time for the 2019 model year. More importantly, Brian Maragno said the model will come equipped with an upgraded electric motor that produces 200 hp (149 kW / 203 PS).
While the standard Leaf only has 147 hp (110 kW / 149 PS), Maragno said “When you have a bigger battery, with more capacity, it just opens up the door to be able to have more output.” The extra power should help to offset the weight of the larger battery pack and could deliver a more exciting driving experience.
Speaking of the battery, it is expected to have capacity of 60 kWh which should the car to have a range in excess of 200 miles (321 km). The company is keeping detailed specifications under wraps, but the car’s range will be a significant improvement over the standard model which can travel approximately 151 miles (243 km) on a single charge.
Maragno declined to say when the car will be unveiled but, considering it’s a 2019 model, it should debut relatively soon. Since Nissan is skipping the Paris Motor Show, the Leaf E-Plus could debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. That’s not official at this point, but it would make sense to introduce the model in the largest market for electric vehicles in the United States.
Besides talking about the Leaf E-Plus, the conversation briefly turned to the Leaf Nismo. However, Maragno was tight-lipped about the model as he said “We haven’t made any announcements in the US relative to a Nismo version of the car, so who knows what will happen, but there’s really no announcement there.”
