2018 Nissan Leaf - INTERIOR

Confirmed: 2018 Nissan Leaf will be built at Sunderland plant
The Mk2 Nissan Leaf has a range of 235 miles - with a 310-mile model to follow - and advanced autonomous systems

Nissan has confirmed that production of the next-generation Leaf will take place at the firm’s UK plant in Sunderland, The Sunderland plant will commence production of the firm’s new all-electric model towards the end of the year, while it will also be built at plants in the United States and the firm’s home market of Japan.
“We’re proud to continue manufacturing the Nissan LEAF at three plants globally,” said Fumiaki Matsumoto, executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management.
The Sunderland plant produced its first car in 1986, and in 2016 507,430 new Nissans rolled off the production line. The outgoing Leaf has been produced at the plant since 2013.

New 2018 Nissan Leaf revealed
This is the all-new, second-generation Nissan Leaf and it will “make drivers feel more confident, excited and connected”, according to the Japanese brand.
It has a tough act to follow, because the Mk1 was the first mass-market EV, shifting more than 283,000 units in seven years.
The latest all-electric family hatch has a wealth of advanced new tech, grouped under the banner of “Nissan Intelligent Mobility”. Auto Express went behind the scenes to find out more.

Three pillars underpin this, the first of which is called Intelligent Driving. By far the biggest advance for the Leaf comes in the form of Nissan’s e-Pedal. This switchable system increases the regenerative braking when you lift off the accelerator to 0.2g, or around four times more than regular engine braking in a petrol or diesel car. It means you can deal with 90 per cent of driving using just the accelerator, Nissan claims.
Nissan’s ProPilot autonomous system is also part of the Intelligent Driving technology fitted to the car. It works on motorways, taking the demand off the driver in queuing traffic at up to 62mph.

However, as the level of autonomy in cars increases over the coming years, so the system can be adapted. Nissan plans to add stage-two autonomous driving (multi-lane capability on the motorway) by 2018, with a target that the system will eventually be able to negotiate city traffic from 2020.

However, as the level of autonomy in cars increases over the coming years, so the system can be adapted. Nissan plans to add stage-two autonomous driving (multi-lane capability on the motorway) by 2018, with a target that the system will eventually be able to negotiate city traffic from 2020.

That’s over 50 per cent further than the current car, but the recharging time remains the same, at around 40 minutes for an 80 per cent fast charge. This battery will take around eight hours for a full top-up from a normal 7kW charger.

The front-mounted motor produces 110kW, or 148bhp, up from the outgoing car’s 80kW or 108bhp. This helps reduce the 0-62mph time by 15 per cent, so the new Leaf should cover the 0-62mph sprint in around 9.8 seconds.

There will be a higher-capacity battery available in a more powerful variant, too. Nissan tells us this will be offered a year to 18 months after the new Leaf’s launch, and that it will give the car a range of more than 310 miles when it arrives.

For the first time, this higher-capacity, physically larger battery will also be teamed with a more powerful electric motor, although Nissan has yet to reveal exactly how much extra power this version will have over the standard car.
Read More http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/nissan/l...

"SUBSCRIBE NOW"