DETROIT -- Nissan Motor Corp. is very close to eliminating range anxiety with its next-generation electric vehicle battery, Chief Planning Officer Philippe Klein said.
“We don’t need that much to get out from the basic range anxiety,” Klein said at the Detroit auto show. “We’re going to be there relatively quickly.”
Klein declined to give a timeline for expanding the electric car’s driving range, but suggested the breakthrough could come around the debut of the next-generation Leaf electric vehicle. That car may arrive around 2017 or 2018.
“It’s fair to recognize we are a bit short,” Klein said of the current Leaf’s range. “But for commuting purposes, we are not very far from getting out from range anxiety.”
As rated by the EPA, the 2015 Leaf can go 84 miles on a full charge. U.S. sales rose 34 percent to 30,200 vehicles last year.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn revealed on a Japanese TV broadcast in November that Nissan is preparing a second-generation EV battery that will “double” the current battery range. But Klein declined to comment on future range targets.
Klein joined Nissan last September from the Japanese carmaker’s French partner Renault SA. He replaced Andy Palmer, who left Nissan to become CEO of Aston Martin.
