2018 Nissan Leaf spied completely undisguised again

The latest spy photos of the 2018 Nissan Leaf are reportedly from the inspection line at the Oppama Plant in Japan. This facility is the "Mother Plant" of the Nissan Leaf.

Derived from the swanky Nissan IDS Concept, the Nissan Leaf has incorporated a more conventional design for its second generation. It looks bigger than the previous generation model that is 4,445 mm long, 1,770 mm wide and 1,550 mm tall.

The current Nissan Leaf has two battery pack options: 24 kWh and 30 kWh. The 24 kWh battery pack offers a range of 228 km, while the 30 kWh offers 280 km. Recent spy shots have shown that the 2018 Nissan Leaf has a driving range of 265 km. It is possible that this range is offered by a 40 kWh battery pack and there is a bigger, 60 kWh battery pack option planned on the top of it, with a range of over 350 km.

The original Nissan Leaf made EVs volume-sellers with it alone recording a sales figure of over 2,77,000 units globally.

The next-gen Nissan Leaf is more than about making EVs mainstream. It will feature ProPILOT, Nissan's autonomous drive technology. The all-new Leaf drivers will have the convenience of letting the car control acceleration, braking and steering during single-lane driving on the highway. The second-gen model will debut ProPILOT Park which gives the car the capability to park autonomously in parallel, angled, front or straight back-in parking spots.

Like the outgoing Nissan Leaf, the next-gen Nissan Leaf isn't a product friendly for India because of the lack of charging infrastructure and hefty taxation on imported cars. Local manufacturing is not feasible due to technical complexities and the limited sales of EVs in the country. So, Nissan India is considering assembling the Leaf to test the potential for electric cars in India.