Nissan is showing keen interest in the electric car segment and the Leaf is one of their prominent models.
But, it’s not going to end there because they have already planned to add another one to sit below the Leaf in their lineup.
The new model is expected to be in the size of a Ford Fiesta. Nissan has experienced great success with their Leaf which has already sold over 200,000 models since it got launched in the year 2010. The automobile brand is now ready to follow up with a successor to the electric car but they might probably make it smaller and compact so as to make it appealing to a new strata of buyers.
The upcoming car could be a five door model. The rumors emerge from the fact that Nissan has been making a lot of changes and all of them indicate towards an electrified future. The brand is not interested in simply making the Leaf their only car. Instead, they are going to bring multiple cars that rely on electric motors.
Talking about the company’s future plans, Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan’s EV program head said, “The first EV cars were more for the early adopters and then came the second and the third wave of models. The segment is slowly changing and Europe has already accepted electric cars in all areas including wagons, hatchback and crossover models.”
The upcoming EV crossover is supposed to be based on the Nissan Leaf with minor changes done to the B0 architecture. It is being used in the Nissan Juke crossover and the new car, even though smaller will have a higher ride height. The ground clearance should allow it to be an ideal family car for all types of road conditions and long trips. Other specifications of the model is not known at the moment.
Executive vice president of Nissan commented that the entire brand is committed to making EVs a prominent part of their lineup. “We are really interested in adding more models to the lineup and expand it further. When we do, it will be focused on the customer friendly wagons because sports cars aren’t something that interests the team as a whole. The basic requirements and setup of such models are completely different. Experimenting with them using electric motors and batteries doesn’t contribute much to the industry as a whole which is why the follow up models will be similar to Leaf,” he said.