New Nissan LEAF to arrive fashionably late

The second-generation Nissan LEAF electric hatch made its official Australian debut in Sydney this morning, when local specifications were revealed and Nissan committed to electrify a third of the vehicles it sells here by 2022.

However, no Australian pricing or charging times have been announced for the new Nissan LEAF, which was launched in Japan more than a year ago and won’t be available locally until later than promised, in mid-2019.

That will make Australia one of the last mature markets to get the MkII Nissan LEAF, after sales started in Japan this time last year following the global launch. European and North American buyers started seeing their cars early this year.

Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester said the new LEAF will be just the start of the company’s electrified vehicle rollout during its current five-year business plan ending in 2022.

“Electrified vehicles will represent a third of Nissan volume in Australia during our mid-term plan [ending in 2022],” he said today.

“By introducing more electric alternatives on several of our key models, we will make mass-market electrification a reality.

“I have no doubt electric vehicles will be a success here and sooner than many think, and Nissan is planning for this now to ensure we meet the future needs of the buyer.”

Nissan is anticipating a more eager welcome for its new LEAF compared to the original, which was the world’s top-selling mass-market EV globally but found just 616 homes in Australia between 2012 and 2016, according to VFACTS.

When it arrived in Australia in 2012, the first Nissan LEAF was priced at $48,990 plus on-road costs, but Nissan slashed its price to $39,990 soon after following meagre sales, which continued.

According to a survey commissioned by Nissan, of more than 500 Australians intending to buy a new car in the next three years, 29 per cent said that they were already considering an EV purchase and 65 per cent said they were more likely to buy from a well-known car-maker.

However, while 63 per cent said believe the move to EVs is inevitable, 74 per cent are worried about a lack of public charging infrastructure and 73 have concerns about how far they can drive on a charge, highlighting the range anxiety associated with EV ownership.

Next year will be a busy one for new EV arrivals Down Under. As well as the electric-only version of the Hyundai IONIQ, there will also be a couple of battery-powered compact SUVs including the Hyundai Kona Electric early next year and the Kia e-Niro in late 2019.

Tesla’s new, more affordable Model 3 mid-size sedan is also due here sometime late next year, although it won’t be priced under $50,000 like those SUVs and the only other mainstream EV currently available, the Renault ZOE.

While the new LEAF won’t be available to Australians before the end of the Japanese fiscal year (March 31, 2019) as previously promised and pricing remains unknown, Nissan did nail down local specs for its flagship EV today.

The new LEAF will feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – the first Nissan to do so – within its 8.0-inch touch-screen display, which also runs satellite-navigation, seven-speaker Bose Energy Efficient audio and digital radio.

Also standard in the Aussie LEAF will be active cruise control, a 7.0-inch instrument cluster display, ISOFIX child seat anchor points, leather seat trim, heated front and rear seats and a heated leather steering wheel.

Exterior features will include LED daytime running lights, 17-inch alloy wheels (with a temporary spare wheel), privacy glass and front/rear parking sensors.

Six exterior paint colours will be offered: Arctic White, Ivory Pearl (with black roof), Magnetic Red, Pearl Black, Platinum and Gun Metallic.

The 2019 Nissan LEAF has a larger 40kWh battery, more power and torque (up 38 per cent and 14 per cent respectively). Outputs are 110kW of power and 320Nm of torque. Nissan says it will have an improved real-world driving range of up to 270km per charge.

Charging times range from 24 hours for a full charge to a less than 60 minutes for a fast charge, but exact Australian times are yet to be announced.

The LEAF’s new e-Pedal feature is in effect a more intensive type of regenerative braking. This allows deceleration and stopping by easing off the accelerator alone. The LEAF also features an auto-hold function.

It also has what is referred to as ‘Nissan Intelligent Mobility’ safety features, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian protection, lane departure warning and 360-degree around-view monitor with moving object detection.

Other new safety features to arrive in the LEAF will include predictive forward collision warning, blind-spot warning, traffic sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring and high beam-assist.

The LEAF will be sold at 89 Nissan dealerships in Australia (up from just 12 when the first LEAF was introduced in 2012), including 62 metropolitan ‘EV ready’ Nissan dealerships in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, with a further 27 dealers in locations such as Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Cairns and Fremantle.

EV ready means that the sales and service staff have received specific LEAF training and the dealership has the expertise and infrastructure for LEAF servicing and stocks LEAF spare parts and accessories.