Nissan unveils 2018 next-gen Leaf with new design, more range, V2G, and more

After months of teasing, Nissan has finally officially unveiled its next-generation Leaf today in Tokyo, Japan.

The new version of the all-electric vehicle feature a new design, “~40% range increase”, vehicle-to-grid capacity, and several more features.

If you have been following Electrek over the last few months, not much of this will come as a surprise.

The specs leaked last month and now Nissan confirmed the new 40 kWh battery pack that they claim can enable “400 km” of range (~250 miles), but that’s under Japan’s JC08 standard, which is known to be unreasonable.

The actual EPA-rated range is expected to be around ~151 miles.

As expected, Nissan also confirmed that a “longer range” version will be available next year. This is expected to be the long-awaited 60 kWh battery pack to enable over 200 miles of range and compete with Tesla’s Model 3 and Chevy’s Bolt EV.

The new 2018 Nissan Leaf also features a new 110 kW electric motor, which is a significant jump from the 2017 model’s 80 kW motor, and the long-range version should be more powerful.

We published the full specs further down.

The Design Refresh

The new design is arguably the biggest change to come with this new generation, but we already got a pretty good look at the next generation Nissan Leaf without camouflage through some spy shots.

The vehicles that they brought on stage featured the exact same black roof and white body as the vehicle spotted in the wild.

The Leaf’s profile remains roughly the same – though they claimed that it has been refined.

What has been completely refreshed is the front fascia, which had been the main point of criticism for the design of the previous version of the car.

Based on the reactions from the spy shots, the design refresh has been well received (atleast compared to the previous version) and it’s doubtful that it will change with the final reveal. What do you think? Here’s a gallery:

Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said during the launch that while the first generation Leaf was an “EV pioneer”, the next generation will bring them to the next level and become an important part of the company:

“It has the potential to become the core of the company.”

In Japan, where they are getting the new vehicle in October and ahead of other markets, they expect to double or triple their Leaf sales with this new generation, which is offered at roughly the same price as the previous one: 3,150,360 yen (~$29,000 USD).

In the US, the vehicle is instead expected to come in “early 2018” – starting at $29,990.

But a new design and range increase for the same price is not all you get with this new generation.

Nissan has included a few edge features, like vehicle-to-grid capacity, which enables owners to use their car’s battery pack to power their home.

They are also linking their ‘ProPilot’ feature, a semi-autonomous highway driving system, to the new vehicle, which will be the first to have it in their lineup.

But there are also a few things that Nissan didn’t update and could be disappointing to some here.

For example, the specs only reference “3 kW” and “optional 6 kW” for regular charging and “80% in 40 minutes” for quick charging”, which translate to 50-60 kW DC fast-charging.

It doesn’t seem like they thought of upgrading their charging capacity at all and even kept the CHAdeMO standard for the US model based on the press pictures that they released:

That’s going to be a bummer for those hoping that they make the move to CCS in the US, but there’s still hope for the long-range version, which is expected closer to the US launch of the new Leaf.

In the meantime, the 2017 Leaf is being heavily discounted while dealerships are waiting for the new generation. You can check with your local Nissan dealer for Leafs in their inventories.

Here are the full specs released by Nissan:

2017 Nissan LEAF specifications (Japan model)
_{Specifications are based on the latest product information available at the time of release. Specifications for other regions will be announced at the start of sales.}