Nissan Confirms the Next-Gen Leaf will be Competitive with the Model 3 and Bolt

2016 Nissan Leaf (Credit: © Nissan)

The new number for EVs is 200 miles and that is no mystery at this point as Chevy has already previewed its 200-mile Bolt EV and Tesla has its 200-mile Model 3 coming. Recently, rumors have been swirling about Nissan adding a new battery to its Leaf that would result in a 200-plus-mile range. Today, that rumor becomes a little more official.

According to Autoblog Green, when it asked Nissan engineer, Kazuo Yajima, about a 60 kWh battery pack for the next-gen Leaf at EV29 (an EV symposium), he simply said, “it’s coming.” Unfortunately, Yajima couldn’t say when it was coming, but the confirmation is all we need to know that the Leaf will remain competitive moving forward.

According to Yajima, who was showing off Nissan’s new 60 kWh battery at the show, this new pack will more than double the range of the 24 kWh battery in the current Leaf. We’re talking somewhere in the 210- to 220-mile range, which would put it about in line with the upcoming Bolt EV and Model 3.

As Yajima mentioned, there is no exact timetable for its release, but my gut says it’ll come in about two years—just in time to meet the Bolt and Model 3.

We’ll continue monitoring this story and bring you updates as they become available.