Right after the second generation Nissan Leaf debuted Nissan confirmed that a second Leaf with a longer driving range would be added for the 2019 model year. We’ve now learned that the second version will be called the Leaf E-Plus and the good news is that it will not only give the Leaf a longer driving range, but more power.
AutoGuide recently spoke to Nissan’s director of EV Marketing and Sales Strategy, Brian Maragno who revealed some big details about the 2019 Leaf. Marango told the publication that the 2019 Nissan Leaf E-Plus will get a larger battery than the current 40 kWh battery, which will give it a longer driving range than the current 151 miles you can travel in the regular Leaf. With the more powerful battery, Nissan also decided to add a more powerful electric motor.
The current Leaf is powered by a 147 horsepower electric motor, but the long-range E-Plus version will have a more powerful 200 horsepower electric motor. “When you have a bigger battery, with more capacity, it just opens up the door to be able to have more output,” Marango stated. “A larger capacity battery lends itself towards two things: one is obvious: more range. The other one, which is maybe a little less obvious, but equally as true, is additional horsepower and output.”
Marango did not reveal the specs for the larger battery, but last year it was reported that the 2019 Leaf will be offered with a larger 60 kWh battery that will give the Leaf E-Plus a driving range around 225 miles.
Could a Nissan Leaf Nismo be next? AutoGuide asked if there’s a possibility of a Leaf Nismo in the future, but Marango replied, “We haven’t made any announcements in the US relative to a Nismo version of the car, so who knows what will happen, but there’s really no announcement there.”
Source: AutoGuide
