Nissan is accelerating its transformation to electric vehicles. It has also previously announced that it will phase out fuel vehicles and plans to achieve 100% electrification in Europe by 2030.
Last week, the company revealed that it will invest 3 billion pounds to produce three new electric vehicles at its Sunderland plant, including two new electric models and the next-generation LEAF . It is said that the new car will undergo major upgrades.
The next-generation Nissan Leaf will be launched late next year, a Nissan source told Automotive News Europe.
Nissan also plans to transform its two best-selling SUVs, the Juke and Qashqai, into fully electric models. The Qashqai was said to be the best-selling car in the UK last year, while the Juke has sold more than 1 million units.
The new electric cars will be based on Nissan concept cars, with the Qashqai likely to be inspired by the Hyper Urban concept, while the Hyper Punk concept also appears to be an inspiration for the Juke.
Dataforce research shows Nissan Leaf sales in Europe fell 31% to 11,568 units in the year to October. Meanwhile, Chinese rivals such as BYD and SAIC MG are experiencing rapid growth.
Nissan sources revealed that the next-generation Leaf will be closer to the Nissan Ariya, the brand’s first electric SUV model. Nissan says the next-generation Leaf will be designed with reference to its Chill-Out concept car.
This concept car is based on the CMF-EV platform used by Nissan Ariya, and it is also equipped with Nissan’s e-4ORCE electric four-wheel drive control system. The new Leaf will be “completely redesigned” and does not seem to intend to inherit the previous two modern design features.
Its batteries will come from Nissan’s battery factory currently under construction. The energy density of the new generation battery (Gen5) will be 30% higher than the 62 kWh battery currently used in the Nissan Leaf, which can increase the range to 239 miles (about 385 kilometers). , on par with the Volkswagen ID.3 (343 miles of range on a 77 kWh battery).
