Rumour: Nissan Leaf with 60kWh battery to be presented at CES fair
According to German website Electrive.net, Nissan will unveil a version of the current Nissan Leaf with a 60 kWh battery at the Consumer Electronics Show between January 8 and 11 at the Consumer Electronics Show. Electric cars with 60 kWh batteries seem to be the new standard.
The website Electrive.net reports during a dealer presentation that it has learned that Nissan wants to present the car at CES and that the model will be available for the European market in May next year. This model with the 60 kWh battery would have the addition ‘E-Plus’ in the name. Compared to the current Nissan Leaf with the 40 kWh battery, 5800 euros extra will have to be paid. Nissan has not yet officially confirmed the information.
Rumor has it that the increased battery capacity would also provide more engine power, bringing horsepower from 150 to 200, which is on par with competitors such as the Kia e-Niro and Hyundai Kona. The battery pack is reportedly still equipped with passive air cooling in the new edition of the Nissan Leaf. Most other manufacturers use active liquid cooling, which should extend battery cell life.
Furthermore, the 60kWh battery model of the Leaf will receive support for 100kW fast charging. The battery cells are probably from LG Chem and are no longer from Nissan itself. The current model of the Nissan Leaf has a 40kWh battery, while previous models have 30kWh and 24kWh batteries. The 40kWh variant should achieve a range of 270km according to the WLTP standard. It is not yet clear at what range the new Leaf with the 60 kWh battery will come out. It will probably be around 400km. The Kia e-Niro with the 64 kWh battery, for example, reaches 455 km.
The unveiling of the Nissan Leaf with the 60 kWh battery should have taken place during the recently closed Los Angeles Motor Show. That was reportedly postponed because Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, is suspected of financial malpractice. He denies these allegations, but was fired by the car company at the end of November.