Photo: Nissan
Nissan executive vice president and chief planning officer Andy Palmer has revealed tantalizing details about the next generation of the Leaf electric car and a sister car from the Infiniti premium brand.
According to a report from Automotive News, the EV will continue to be a hatchback, but two major changes will be made. Firstly, the look of the car needs to appeal to more people, not just the one who want to make an eco statement. So the current Leaf's slashes and bulbous headlights will be watered town to look like a normal 5-door.
Nissan's global design chief Mamoru Aoki reportedly said the Leaf tries to hard to tell people that it's an EV. As an alternative, he point towards the Tesla Model S, which has been successful with a normal sedan shape.
“Tesla doesn’t look EV at all. The Tesla S just looks nice, very sporty, sleek, but very authentic,” says Aoki.
The automaker will have a lot to take into account. Yes, the Leaf is a Japanese car and it sells well locally, but Norway is buying a lot of them as well, due to incentives from the government. Perhaps the next Leaf will look as reasonable as an Ikea folding sofa.
Nissan's planning officer also said that the future EVs would have to provide a range of at least 300 km (186 miles) – over 100 km (62 miles) more than the current Leaf’s 195 km NEDC range. The brand new Leaf should arrive in 2017, just in time to take advantage of new battery technology.
Infiniti has intentionally delayed putting its own electric car into production for this very reason. Previewed by the 2012 LE Concept, their first green car will come in 2017 as well, 3 years later than originally planned. It will feature wireless charging technology and could have an even longer range because its sedan body accommodates a larger battery.
Via Automotive News
Nissan's global design chief Mamoru Aoki reportedly said the Leaf tries to hard to tell people that it's an EV. As an alternative, he point towards the Tesla Model S, which has been successful with a normal sedan shape.
“Tesla doesn’t look EV at all. The Tesla S just looks nice, very sporty, sleek, but very authentic,” says Aoki.
The automaker will have a lot to take into account. Yes, the Leaf is a Japanese car and it sells well locally, but Norway is buying a lot of them as well, due to incentives from the government. Perhaps the next Leaf will look as reasonable as an Ikea folding sofa.
Nissan's planning officer also said that the future EVs would have to provide a range of at least 300 km (186 miles) – over 100 km (62 miles) more than the current Leaf’s 195 km NEDC range. The brand new Leaf should arrive in 2017, just in time to take advantage of new battery technology.
Infiniti has intentionally delayed putting its own electric car into production for this very reason. Previewed by the 2012 LE Concept, their first green car will come in 2017 as well, 3 years later than originally planned. It will feature wireless charging technology and could have an even longer range because its sedan body accommodates a larger battery.
Via Automotive News
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