2018 Nissan LEAF Dynamic Design teased with new photo of Nissan’s new electric bedrock

The 2018 Nissan LEAF is due to debut on 6 September, ahead of which Nissan are teasing the new LEAF’s aerodynamic body with a new tease photo.

If Nissan are honest, the LEAF EV has never set car sales alight in quite the way they expected, although it is the world’s best-selling electric car.

Launched back in 2009, the LEAF has been a pioneer for mainstream electric cars, and Nissan has persevered with it despite sales never heading in line with their then prediction that 10 per cent of all cars would be BEVs by 2020.

But EVs have new momentum with the diesel emissions saga rumbling on, and although plug-in hybrids are more dominant, pure BEVs look set to become more appealing when Toyota launches its BEVs in 2022 with a solid state battery, expected to deliver massively shorter charging times, lower cost and range of up to 600 miles.

But the new Nissan LEAF, which debuts on 6 September, is a few years ahead of the disruptive breakthrough expected from Toyota (and doubtless others too), but is still expected to offer a range of up to 300 miles from a much bigger battery bank, and aided by its slippery shape and the ever falling cost of batteries for electric cars.

That shape is teased in a new photo from Nissan (above) which promises the new LEAF will be much more aerodynamic and appealing than the current LEAF.

It will also have autonomous capabilities not seen so far in its sector, with Nissan’s Pro Pilot promising single lane autonomous driving and self parking abilities.

The LEAF will also come with e-Pedal, a novel way of using the ‘Brake’ function on EVs to the max to allow the throttle to (almost) fully control speed and braking.

It all looks promising and appealing, even if it could be made to look yesterday’s technology if Toyota’s battery breakthrough does arrive in 2022.