Nissan to Launch New EV Model on Jan. 23

Yokohama, Jan. 9 (Jiji Press)--Nissan Motor Co. <7201> said Wednesday that it will launch a high-performance series of its Leaf electric vehicle on Jan. 23. The Leaf e+ will be the first model to be released by Nissan since the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, its former chairman, in November last year. The automaker had postponed the Leaf e+ launch, initially set for the end of November last year, due to the arrest. Daniele Schillaci, executive vice president of Nissan, and other officials made no comment on Ghosn's arrest at the launch event in Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, where the company is headquartered. Each of the two Leaf e+ types, which is as big and spacious as the Leaf, has a 55 pct larger battery storage capacity and can travel 458 kilometers, 40 pct longer than the previous model, on a single charge, Nissan said. With improved acceleration, the new electric vehicles can perform better on express ways, it added. Nissan hopes to sell the e+ X type for 4,162,320 yen and the e+ G type for 4,729,320 yen. END