Next-gen Nissan Leaf to gain autonomous tech

AHEAD of a public reveal later this year, Nissan has announced that its next-generation Leaf electric vehicle (EV) will feature the Japanese car-maker’s ProPilot suite of autonomous technologies, suitable for assisted driving on single-lane highways.

ProPilot can support the driver during highway situations by helping control acceleration, braking and steering, and will continue to be developed over the coming years to the point where it will be capable of navigating city intersections.

The ProPilot integration is part of Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility strategy to achieve zero emissions and zero road fatalities.

Nissan accompanied the announcement with a short video and a picture of the Leaf’s instrument cluster, which shows a fully digital display with autonomous driving information, and a ProPilot button accessible on the steering wheel-mounted controls.

Little has been revealed about the Leaf, with Nissan slowly leaking information ahead of a global reveal later in the year, possibly at the Frankfurt motor show in September ahead of a likely Australian on-sale date of 2019.

Last month a teaser shot of the Leaf’s headlight cluster was revealed, showing a sweeping daytime running light design with a two-tiered, square-shaped lighting signature.

Photos of a camouflaged Leaf have emerged that show it will use Nissan’s ‘Emotional Geometry’ design language, featuring the trapezoidal front grille from a number of new Nissan models and concepts.

Boomerang-shaped tail-lights similar to the IDS self-driving EV and Vmotion 2.0 concept can also be glimpsed, while inside, a cleanly laid out interior with a central touchscreen and curious circular gear knob are visible.

Rumours suggest Nissan’s newest EV will partially resemble the aforementioned IDS, which was first revealed at the 2015 Tokyo motor show and sports a battery pack twice as big as the current-generation Leaf.

Driving range is expected to double in the new Leaf, up to roughly 400km from the 100-200km in the pioneering model.

The current Leaf was dropped by Nissan earlier this year, with the company electing to put the model on hiatus until the arrival of the all-new version.

Nissan is expected to continue teasing the Leaf up until its full reveal in the third quarter.