{"id":21062,"date":"2017-09-05T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T15:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=21062"},"modified":"2017-09-12T11:11:56","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T15:11:56","slug":"nissan-leaf-2-0-more-ev-for-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2017\/09\/nissan-leaf-2-0-more-ev-for-less","title":{"rendered":"Nissan Leaf 2.0: More EV for less"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/a17e83ed8e394c6e8793b5140c30e3714088d280\/c=401-0-2447-1539&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/09\/05\/DetroitNews\/B99572660Z.1_20170905223002_000_GLL1KS02Q.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"2018_Nissan_LEAF_US_12\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">Since its introduction in 2010, the battery-powered, 107-mile-range, $30,000 Nissan Leaf has been the best-selling electric vehicle in the United States. But that leadership is under challenge with new, more attractive, affordably priced entries from Chevrolet and Tesla promising longer range for under $40,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">On Thursday night, Nissan debuted Leaf 2.0. And while it won\u2019t join the 200-like-range-for-under-$40,000 club pioneered by the Chevy Bolt EV and Tesla Model 3, it will increase its range while remaining the EV segment\u2019s price leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At just $29,990 \u2013 $690 below the 2017 Leaf \u2013 the all-new, 2018 Leaf promises a 40-percent bump in range to 150 miles and more mainstream design. Produced in three plants around the globe \u2013 including Smyrna, Tennessee, for the U.S. market \u2013 the Leaf was jointly developed by a global engineering team, including significant input on autonomous and regenerative systems developed by Nissan\u2019s Farmington Hills Tech Center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s about the right value,\u201d said Overseas Chief Vehicle Engineer Chris Reed, who led North American Leaf development out of Farmington Hills. \u201cThe Leaf was hitting about 90 percent of (customer) usage scenarios, so we made it 40 percent better. We all are dealing with the cost of batteries. We are working on a bigger battery for the customer that wants that range. But for our main customer who wants to be under $30,000, with 40 percent more range, more features, and a mainstream car \u2013 the Leaf is the right value relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-252\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-254\" class=\"ad-slot\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/money\/autos_0__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/money\/autos_0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/money\/autos_0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">While EV sales remain under 1percent of the U.S. market, the Leaf aims to capitalize on increasing government mandates for zero-emission cars. The U.S.\u2019s largest EV market, California, is mandating that 15 percent of vehicle sales by EV by 2025 while countries like England and French will ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2040.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;When we launched Leaf in 2010, it instantly became the most affordable, mass market EV in the world. We are not walking away from that proposition,&#8221; said Jose Mu\u00f1oz, Nissan North America\u2019s Chief Performance Officer, in Las Vegas where the Leaf\u2019s introduction was simulcast with Tokyo.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-247\" class=\"partner-outstream\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-outstream_video-money-autos-249\" class=\"ad-slot\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/outstream_video\/money\/autos_0__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/outstream_video\/money\/autos_0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/outstream_video\/money\/autos_0\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Derided for its nerdy styling, the original, egg-shaped Leaf made a green statement with a smooth, grille-less fascia and smooth sides. The 2018 model conforms to the rest of Nissan\u2019s design portfolio with a familiar \u201cV-motion\u201d grille \u2014 anchored by its signature, chrome, \u201cbull nose-ring\u201d \u2014 as well as boomerang rear taillights and more sculpted rocker panels. The rear c-pillar even gets the racy, \u201cfloating roof\u201d treatment pioneered by the stylish Nissan Murano.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Leaf 2.0 will initially come equipped with a 40 kWh battery with the upped 150-mile range that will eclipse other low-priced EV options like the Volkswagen e-Golf, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, the Honda Clarity Electric, and the Ford Focus Electric. With a longer-range, 60 kWh battery similar to that found in the Chevy Bolt \u2014 which should push the range past 200 miles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Plug the Leaf into a 240-volt, Level 2 wall charger and it will fully recharge in about eight hours. The new Nissan is also Level 3 (so-called \u201cDC fast charger\u201d) capable, which can recover 90 miles of range in 30 minutes. But Level 3 chargers are rare in Metro Detroit with locations in Ferndale, Dearborn, Ann Arbor and a few other locations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Leaf also introduces new, innovative technologies that the Bolt and Tesla have made synonymous with EVs like single-pedal driving \u2014 Nissan calls it the e-Pedal \u2014 and autonomous driving capability. In DRIVE mode the e-Pedal is activated by a switch on the dash that allows for single pedal driving \u2014 that is, when lifting your right foot off the accelerator, the car will start braking. Like the Bolt EV\u2019s LOW mode, the Leaf can come all the way to stop if the e-Pedal is not applied for acceleration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The e-Pedal idea was a product of Reed\u2019s Farmington Hills engineering team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cIf we didn\u2019t start that conversation here that wouldn\u2019t have happened. We\u2019re always listening to customer feedback through customers clinics and frontline feedback,\u201d said Reed. \u201cThey understood regeneration and they asked if it couldn\u2019t do more. So that is where idea started and so the people running the clinics brought it back to the engineers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He says the team saw the e-Pedal\u2019s greatest benefit on hills for parallel parking and stop-start situations such as on the steep hills in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cNissan a global operation &#8230; and all these little details differ from region to region. We did a lot of work on the hills of San Francisco,\u201d Reed continued. \u201cWhat is unique is the seamless connection between the regenerative brake side and the actual friction brakes. We call it stop-and-hold. You take foot off the pedal as it eases to a stop and it holds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Chevy\u2019s Bolt has outsold the Leaf in the U.S. this year while Tesla\u2019s Model 3 \u2014 due this fall \u2014 has created a global sensation with more than 500,000 pre-orders. But Nissan executives touted the Japanese brand\u2019s reputation for reliability with a shot across the bow of Tesla, which has experienced quality issues and some highly publicized crashes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWe have advantages that Tesla does not,\u201d said Daniele Schillaci, Nissan executive vice president of global sales. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to introduce technology that grabs headlines, but it\u2019s harder to engineer it safely to makes people\u2019s lives better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Engineer Reed says Nissan has never had a safety issue with the Leaf in its eight years on the market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWe gouged the battery with a nail then started it right away. We shot it with a bullet. Crazy things can happen on the road. We focus all our engineering experience on everything we do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since its introduction in 2010, the battery-powered, 107-mile-range, $30,000 Nissan Leaf has been the best-selling electric vehicle in the United States. But that leadership is under challenge with new, more attractive, affordably priced entries from Chevrolet and Tesla promising longer range for under $40,000. On Thursday night, Nissan debuted Leaf 2.0. And while it won\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21063,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21062\/revisions\/21063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}