There’s plenty of electrifying news emanating from Nissan these days. The 2016 LEAF features substantially improved range, and a completely new generation is rumored to be coming in 2018.

Now Yoshi Shimoida, Nissan’s Deputy General Manager, EV and HEV Engineering Division, said the company will unveil an EV with a range extending engine in 2016. In an interview with Australia’s Motoring magazine, Shimoida said, “In the future Nissan will add to the line-up of EV systems an engine that is only for generating energy.” He also said that it would not be a new version of the LEAF.

Asked if the putative plug-in would be similar to the BMW i3 with range extending engine, Shimoida said, “It’s something like that. But we call it a series hybrid. Next year we’ll announce what it’s called.”

SEE ALSO: Is Nissan teasing details of 2nd generation LEAF?

Source: Motoring via AutoblogGreen