At the technical briefing for Nissan's revolutionary new Leaf electric vehicle in Japan recently, the press department nearly caught us off guard by flashing some unexpected images between reams of diagrams and figures expounding the virtues of the Leaf. Luckily we had our trusty camera at the right moment and were able to capture three sketches that help bring the company's future electric vehicle plans into focus.
As far back as last October's Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn hinted that a stylish, compact, performance-oriented four-seat Infiniti with zero emissions was being developed in Japan, and the teaser silhouette you see of the sleek, compact four-door confirms what we previously reported.
Expected to be based on a modified version of the Leaf platform but with a slightly more powerful motor, the premium Infiniti sketch employs intriguing design elements such as the C-pillar from the Infiniti Essence first seen at the 2009 Geneva show. Also strongly rumored at last year's Tokyo Motor Show to eventually make it into production was the two-seater Landglider EV concept, which tilts in corners and handles like a four-wheeled motorcycle. The third and final sketch to flash across Nissan's screen was the "e LCV," or the electric light commercial vehicle. A brief explanation on the photo suggests that this model will be the world's first practical global zero-emissions light van. One insider suggests that we can expect this model to employ a modified version of the Leaf's platform, which was uniquely designed as an electric car and features construction that permits Li-ion battery packs to be centrally located under the first- and second-row seats. A closer inspection of this drawing reveals that the e-LCV appears to incorporate design details from the current production NV200 Vanette commercial vehicle, and boasts a nose and charging port cap identical to the Leaf.
Launch details on the EV range remain sketchy, but expect Nissan to space its EV additions at yearly intervals, likely starting with the e-LCV in early 2012.
As far back as last October's Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn hinted that a stylish, compact, performance-oriented four-seat Infiniti with zero emissions was being developed in Japan, and the teaser silhouette you see of the sleek, compact four-door confirms what we previously reported.
Expected to be based on a modified version of the Leaf platform but with a slightly more powerful motor, the premium Infiniti sketch employs intriguing design elements such as the C-pillar from the Infiniti Essence first seen at the 2009 Geneva show. Also strongly rumored at last year's Tokyo Motor Show to eventually make it into production was the two-seater Landglider EV concept, which tilts in corners and handles like a four-wheeled motorcycle. The third and final sketch to flash across Nissan's screen was the "e LCV," or the electric light commercial vehicle. A brief explanation on the photo suggests that this model will be the world's first practical global zero-emissions light van. One insider suggests that we can expect this model to employ a modified version of the Leaf's platform, which was uniquely designed as an electric car and features construction that permits Li-ion battery packs to be centrally located under the first- and second-row seats. A closer inspection of this drawing reveals that the e-LCV appears to incorporate design details from the current production NV200 Vanette commercial vehicle, and boasts a nose and charging port cap identical to the Leaf.
Launch details on the EV range remain sketchy, but expect Nissan to space its EV additions at yearly intervals, likely starting with the e-LCV in early 2012.
