2018 Nissan Leaf: India-bound electric car unveiled

With India’s ambitious plan to become the only electric-car nation by 2030, various manufacturers are now planning to launch electric vehicles in the country. Nissan had earlier suggested that they will bring in the all-new Leaf to India to gauge customer response. The 2018 Leaf has been unveiled in Japan and the same car is expected in the Indian market in the future.

What is it about?

The Nissan Leaf gets major upgrades after its launch in 2011. It comes with much-advanced technology and equipment and looks sleeker too. With the new design, the Leaf gets better aerodynamics that allows the vehicle to travel further on a single full charge.

The new design also improves the stability of the vehicle. The Leaf now looks much more aggressive and the design has been inspired from the all-new Micra, which will not come to India. Nissan has also added autonomous driving technology to the Leaf.

It will be the first autonomous vehicle from Nissan to get the ProPILOT park system. The system takes on the vehicle controls including the steering wheel and helps to park the vehicle in tight spots. The system also has semi-autonomous driving abilities and as per Nissan, this is the most advanced electric autonomous vehicle to go on sale.

The Leaf gets an e-Pedal system, which is a one pedal operation system. The single pedal is used for acceleration, deceleration and braking the vehicle. Nissan says that the technology will be useful in the heavy traffic areas.

The electric vehicle also gets an improved battery life. The car now comes with 40 kWh battery which can take the Leaf to up to 400 km on a single charge. The vehicle is powered by a 148 Bhp motor that generates 320 Nm of peak torque. It takes around 8 hours to 16 hours to charge completely depending on the power output.

Leaf also gets quick charge feature that can charge the vehicle to up to 80 per cent in about 40 mins. We expect the Nissan Leaf to be unveiled in the Indian market in 2018 Auto Expo. Following that, Nissan may bring in a few vehicles to see the customer response towards the car.