Nissan recently invited a small group of journalists to its Advanced Technology Center in Atsugi, near Tokyo, ostensibly to show them the IDS concept vehicle now on display at the Tokyo Motor Show. However, Bertel Schmitt, an old Japan hand, soon surmised that the reporters were looking at “the future Nissan LEAF in drag,” and made some educated guesses about the next-generation LEAF in his Daily Kanban blog.

The battery system used in the IDS concept packs 60 kWh into 288 cells, more than double the energy of LEAFs currently on the road, in the same size package. It uses a Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt cathode and a graphite anode, which seems to be based on the Argonne-developed technology used by GM and others. Range would work out to about 320 miles (according to the Japanese JC08 standard).

The reporters were told that the new battery has greatly reduced resistance, which translates to improved charging time. Nissan has not officially named the supplier of the new battery, but Schmitt reports that an engineer let it slip that it would be jointly built by Renault/Nissan and LG Chem.

The IDS features advanced autonomous tech, including long range RADAR, laser scanners and video cameras that together give the car 360-degree vision. The concept was said to have a 100-percent carbon fiber (CFRP) body, and Schmitt expects the 2nd-gen Leaf to incorporate at least a few major CFRP components.

Nissan has not yet spoken of a launch date for the 2nd-gen Leaf, but the year 2018 was bandied about quite a bit during the media trip to Atsugi.

Source: Daily Kanban