At this weeks Tokyo motor show, Nissan revealed a new concept car, the IDS. This gives us a glimpse of the future and possible new leaf at some point. The Nissan IDS concept includes wireless inductive charging, a host of intelligent driving tools and rather interesting styling.

 

At the launch in Tokyo Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura launched the model with fanfare.

Nissan have also developed a prototype 60 KWH battery pack for use in The IDS concept. If this battery pack was put in the next generation Nissan Leaf, expect a range in excess of 200 miles.

The concept IDS sports carbon fibre body, fancy graphics, ultra-thin 175 wheels, seating for four, flat panel displays and a hinged steering wheel that pivots into the dashboard. The driving tools include lane control, self park and the opposite of self park ,whatever that is called. Maybe Car on Demand.

The concept car show where Nissan are driving at. The CEO Carlos Ghosn confirmed the future production model rollout.

Version one with single lane hands-free driving, Will ship in production model next year in Japan and will be followed in 2017 into Europe the states and China.

Version two is far more sophisticated and includes multi-lane and city driving technology including the ability to steer around obstacles and slower moving vehicles. Expect to see this in 2020.

The IDs concept car includes five sonar sensors; five laser sensors and 12 cameras.

Check out the video below to see it in action.

 

To see the corporate launch check out this video

 

Nissan announces new 30kWh battery for Leaf with longer range, alongside updated infotainment and new paint options

We’ve known about it for some time, but Nissan has finally revealed the full details of the 2016 range updates for the Leaf. The electric hatchback is set to get a 25 per cent range boost, an updated infotainment system and mild styling tweaks.

We’ve know about plans to upgrade the battery pack for the new Nissan Leaf for some time. The 30kWh pack is now available alongside the 24kWh battery, meaning a range that goes from around 110 miles up to a maximum of 155 miles. The downside is a modest 21kg weight penalty.

Nissan is so confident in the new battery pack’s stamina, it will be covered by a full eight-year 100,000-mile guarantee. Charging remains the same process as before, although charging a large pack will of course take longer at the same input levels.

Paul Willcox, Chairman of Nissan Europe, claims the range update “opens the world of EV to thousands of drivers across Europe who before just weren’t completely confident that an EV would work for them”. Adding that, “this extra range will make LEAF ownership an easy first choice, for many, many more drivers.”

Alongside the battery revision, the Japanese firm has taken the opportunity to introduce the latest-gen Nissan Connect touchscreen infotainment system to the Leaf EV. It features an update to the smartphone app which can remotely pre-heat and cool the Leaf, and is also able to tell you how much range you have left. It also gives details of charging points near you and lets you know you whether they are operating.

The touchscreen itself also gets a new interface, while a DAB radio and capacitive zoom for the satnav also feature. New exterior colours can be had (like the bronze hue above), while the roof-mounted aerial gets a new design.

Prices for the 2016 Nissan Leaf with the 30kWh pack start at £24,490 for Acenta spec, £1,600 more than the 24kWh Leaf that remains available with the cosmetic updates.

Visia trim comes with steel wheels, cloth seats and Bluetooth. Acenta adds alloy wheels, Nissan Connect EV, climate control, automatic headlights, reversing camera and privacy glass.

Tekna trim gets heated leather seats front and rear, a 360deg parking camera and a Bose sound system.