Nissan to turn over a new Leaf in September
The company will offer free lease extensions to keep owners in their current cars for just a bit longer.
Nissan has given out very few details regarding the follow-up to its Leaf EV, but we might finally see it later this year.
The Japanese automaker is set to introduce the second-generation Leaf this September, Autoblog reports. That timing means it could debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And since sales are reportedly set to start by the end of the year, it would likely make an appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, too.
If the new Leaf looks even half this cool, I'm all for it.
Most of what we know about the new Leaf comes from Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's CES 2017 keynote. It will come equipped with ProPilot, a semiautonomous system that helps a vehicle hold its lane on the highway with throttle and steering assist. If it wants to be competitive with other new EVs, it'll also need a range upgrade, as the current model only goes about 100 miles between charges.
How it looks will be anybody's guess. It's likely to adopt several styling cues from the wonderful IDS concept, which first appeared in 2015. At the least, expect more aggressive headlights in the style of other new models, like the Murano and Maxima.
Certain Leaf owners will be offered a free lease extension, in order to allow them to remain in Leafs until the new one comes out. Not only will Nissan extend the lease terms for these owners, it'll place them on a priority list to get the new model as early as possible. There's even talk of waiving lease payments during this period.
Since automakers love teasers, odds are we'll be seeing more of the new Leaf before its unveiling. Nissan didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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