Nissan Confirms Next-Gen Leaf With ProPilot Autonomous Driving

Nissan's ProPilot tech promises autonomous single-lane highway driving in the second-gen Leaf

The next-gen Leaf has been made official by Nissan's head honcho, Carlos Ghosn, at the ongoing 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – the world's biggest tech show – in Las Vegas, USA. No time frame for the upcoming Leaf has been given, but it is likely to make its debut later this year or 2018. Also, it is believed that the new Leaf's design will be heavily inspired by the Nissan IDS concept from the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Nissan, said, “At Nissan, from the beginning, we work to bring the right technologies for the full spectrum of our vehicles and the most amount of people. This takes more than innovation. It takes ingenuity. And it's exactly what we deliver through Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”

Nissan highlighted in an official release that the new Leaf will be equipped with ProPilot technology. This will enable the second-gen model of the world's bestselling electric car – having sold more than 250,000 units since 2010 – to be driven autonomously for single-lane highway driving.

Besides this, information about the new Leaf is scarce at the moment, but it is expected that its overall range will improve significantly over the current model as it has to compete with the upcoming, already popular Tesla Model 3 (with a range of nearly 350km). And also, this India-bound 2018 Tesla Model 3 will be equipped with full self-driving tech. Seeing this and post the assessment of its upcoming X-Trail Hybrid SUV's Indian market acceptance, Nissan could introduce the new Leaf in the country.

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