Nissan is gearing up to equip its popular electric car, the Nissan LEAF, with extra battery capacity, which will give a boost to its single-charge mile range to 250 miles plus.
At a shareholders meeting, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn hinted that the company was looking at a long-range electric vehicle that would run on a single charge comparable to a gas-powered car on full tank. The vehicle is expected to take less than three years for it to make its way to the consumer market.
"In the near future," the company is set to offer electric cars with a range "comparative to today's conventional vehicles," according to Ghosn.
The CEO also had two vehicles on stage, namely the "Advanced R&D" Nissan LEAF and a Nissan LEAF that was customized with the "latest versions of hardware and software that Nissan is developing."
Ghosn then played a video that showed the 330-mile prototype Nissan LEAF in Japan. The vehicle seemed to start the trip with 259 miles of range at its disposal. In the U.S., the 2015 LEAF currently boasts a single-charge range of 84 miles maximum.
The video, shown below, reinstates Nissan's assertions that the future-gen Nissan LEAF would be able to do over 250 miles on a single charge. The test vehicle returned with over 125 miles remaining.
So, how does Nissan intend the LEAF to boast an additional 120 miles or more? The company hopes to increase the battery capacity and will include an additional 20 kWh battery along with the 24 kWh one. Nissan also hinted at shorter recharging times.
The additional battery capacity will enable the vehicle to go on for 150 to 160 additional miles on full charge, which is an increase from the 80 to 100 miles that the existing LEAF boasts.
It remains to be seen if Nissan will indeed produce electric cars that boast 250 miles plus on a single charge and whether they will become a reality by 2018.
"Later this year, you will hear more about our initial steps to increase EV range," said Ghosn.
