2019 Nissan Leaf E-Plus to get 60-kWh battery and 200 hp

The 2019 Nissan Leaf brings with it a new long-range version packing more powerful options throughout. Brian Maragano, Nissan's head of EV marketing and sales strategy, told AutoGuide that the coming Leaf E-Plus model will get a larger battery. He didn't cite the specific capacity, but a Nissan slip-up in 2016 and another slip-up by a Swiss charging station builder all but confirmed a 60-kWh pack, a big step up from the current 40 kWh pack. More juice enables a larger electric motor with 200 horsepower, putting it up 53 hp on the motor in the standard 2018 model.

And you get more range, too. Again, Maragano wouldn't throw out numbers, but conservative estimates say a range beyond 200 miles. Posters at the My Nissan Leaf forum predicted a 225-mile range from a 60-kWh battery almost a year ago; that distance would mark a 74-mile jump over the present 151-mile range. If all of these numbers are true, the Leaf E-Plus will get in the ring with the entry-level Tesla Model 3 and the Chevrolet Bolt. The base Model 3 comes with a 50-kWh battery, 197 hp, and a 220-mile range. The standard Bolt gets a 60-kWh battery, 200 hp, and a 238-mile range.

Refilling the Leaf E-Plus battery should take less time as well. A leaked Nissan presentation indicated an 11- to 22-kW onboard charger, and the prototype car caught at the charging station was fast-charging at 102 kW, double the rate possible on today's Leaf.

Nissan won't be at this year's Paris Motor Show, so we might look forward to a reveal at the L.A. Auto Show in November. Leaf forum members have said dealers expect to get the standard 2019 Leaf first, and the E-Plus will follow, perhaps in early 2019.