Australian website CarAdvice reports that the next-generation Nissan Leaf as well as the upcoming Infiniti electric vehicle will feature advanced battery technology that will enable them to cover longer distances.
Nissan chief planning officer Andy Palmer said that any new battery for its future EVs would have to provide a range of at least 300 km – over 100 km more than the current Leaf's 195 km NEDC range. Updates to the current generation car are also in the pipeline, promising to improve battery life in hot climates like ours.
But you wouldn't know how advanced the technology of the next Leaf would be looking at it from the outside, because the company is pitching the car's styling to be more conventional than the current model, which according to executive design director Mamoru Aoki is "aiming too much at an EV-like appearance".
The company is instead looking to ape the direction taken by the Tesla Model S, which Aoki said is "very sporty, sleek, but very authentic" and nothing like an EV. Chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura added that the new car will feature Nissan's new design language first seen on the Murano – including a "floating roof" aesthetic and the "V Motion" front end design – although like the current Leaf, the next-generation model will not have an upper grille.
As for the Infiniti EV (possibly based on 2012's LE concept), the car was slated to be revealed later this year, but has been pushed back to take advantage of the next Leaf's battery technology. However, it is still expected to arrive before the Leaf, and will feature wireless charging technology as seen on the Audi TT Offroad Concept.
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