Nissan unveils new electric car in bid to drive off competition
TOKYO: Nissan has unveiled a new electric car with an extended range and semi-autonomous driving functions, as it seeks to battle off competitors in a sector it once pioneered.
The second- generation Nissan Leaf has a potential range of 400 kilometres between charges, compared with 250 kilometres for its previous version.
It also boasts semiautonomous driving capabilities such as keeping the vehicle automatically in one lane on the motorway or parking without human intervention.
Hiroto Saikawa, president and chief executive officer of Nissan, said in a statement that the new vehicle “strengthens” the firm’s “leadership” in the electric car sector.
Nissan was an innovator in the sector seven years ago when it unveiled its first Leaf -- which has sold 280,000 units -- but has since had to contend with fierce competition from General Motors and Tesla among others.
Faced with tighter global environmental regulations,
If the range goes up and the price remains the same, the new Nissan Leaf will continue to offer one of the least expensive and practical ways to own a pure electric car. Ed Hellwig, a senior editor at car-shopping researcher Edmunds
most carmakers are investing heavily in the electric car sector, sparking a ferocious race to create the next green vehicle.
The new car will be available next month in Japan, followed by the United States, Canada and Japan in January 2018.
The price tag in Japan will be 3.15 million yen (around RM125,000).
The new model has a window to build momentum before Tesla ramps up production for its mass-market Model 3 and a large number of other EV models hit the roads over the next few years.
The Tesla Model 3 starts at US$ 35,000 ( RM150,000) before extras or incentives while the Chevrolet Bolt costs around US$ 37,000, with both cars sporting longer battery range than the 150 miles for the new Leaf’s entry offering.
Chinese buyers in the mainland will have to wait until 2018 or 2019.
Nissan is also considering a higher-performance option with a range beyond 225 miles ( 360 km) to rival the Model 3.
“If the range goes up and the price remains the same, the new Nissan Leaf will continue to offer one of the least expensive and practical ways to own a pure electric car,” said Ed Hellwig, a senior editor at carshopping researcher Edmunds. “It probably won’t offer as much range as the Chevy Bolt, but if the Leaf delivers even a modest bump over its current range, it will be enough to get the attention of most mainstream EV shoppers.” — AFP/Bloomberg