Nissan LEAF News

Nissan's Nismo is headed for an electric future, with the brand's executives saying "there's no question"the performance-focused sub-brand will be electrified.Nissan Australia's managing director, Stephen Lester, has told CarsGuide that his brand's

Australia’s crash-testing body ANCAP has released the latest round of safety testing with the all-new Toyota HiAce and Nissan Leaf earning five stars, yet the Jeep Wrangler has earned only one star. Australia’s top-selling van, the HiAce, achieved 94 per cent for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 77 per cent for safety assist. The second-generation Nissan Leaf scored well, too, with a 93 per cent adult occupant protection score, plus 85 per cent for child occupant protection, 71 per cent vulnerable road user protection and 70 per cent for safety assist.The Jeep Wrangler, on the other hand, scored just 50 per cent for adult occupant projection, 49 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and just 32 per cent for safety assist.From launch, the Wrangler is only equipped with auto emergency braking (AEB) and blind-spot monitoring on the top two models, though Jeep will add both features to the entry-level Sport S “towards the back end of 2019,” according to Jeep Australia boss Steve Zanlunghi.Beyond all of this, the Australian model lacks curtain airbags and is fundamentally challenged by having a fold-down windscreen and removable doors. “The safety performance of the Wrangler is limited, falling well shy of the expected standard in three of the four key areas of assessment” said ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin. “Chest protection was a concern for the driver and rear passenger in each of the frontal crash tests, a number of penalties were applied for structural deformation and potential leg injury hazards, and base variants lack autonomous emergency braking altogether,” Mr Goodwin said.The outgoing JK Wrangler had a four-star rating but only on petrol V6 models produced from 2012 onwards - models dating back to 2007 were not rated. 

Nissan owners' wait for true smartphone mirroring is almost over, with the Japanese brand to begin rolling out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its Australian vehicles from June this year.

Nissan has revealed the pricing and specification details for its refreshed Leaf, with the EV hatch set to cost $49,990 when it arrives in local showrooms around the middle of the year.

If there was ever a snapshot highlighting the challenges of our brave new driving world, surely this is it.Apple’s autonomous car program has suffered its first bruise – and in a stunning irony, it involves the world’s most commercially successful electric car.Reports from Santa Clara, California have revealed that a 2015 Lexus LX450h – owned by Apple and equipped with a battery of autonomous sensors – was involved in a rear-end collision with a Nissan Leaf late last week.The crash was minor, with the Leaf rear-ending the almost-stopped Apple rig at about 24km/h. No injuries were noted.It’s the first reported incident involving Apple’s autonomous car program, which looks a lot different now than it did in 2014, when the computer company announced it would build its own autonomous car by 2017.However, the program was wound back in 2016, with up to 1000 people cut from the project, while Apple focused its attentions on developing autonomous software.The software, known internally as Apple Automated System, has been rolled out across a fleet of some 45 RX SUVs that are actively testing across the state of California, which has granted the Cupertino company licences to run on public roads.Just six Apple employees are reportedly approved to 'drive' the cars, and all hold senior positions within the company.California’s regulations around autonomous vehicles are very strict, requiring licence holders to submit documents like an annual disengagement report, which show just how many times an autonomous vehicle’s driver has had to take control of the car over the testing period.Even the incident report submitted after the crash was on an autonomous vehicle-specific form.A crash between an autonomous vehicle and an EV serves to illustrate the technology barriers that will need to be overcome if self-driving cars are to become part of the modern motoring mix.The majority of crashes in the United States involving autonomous vehicles have been similar in nature, with a piloted car colliding with a slow-moving or stationary autonomous car.There have been tragic exceptions, with a self-driving Volvo XC90 belonging to ride share company Uber striking and killing a pedestrian in Arizona earlier this year, after it failed to detect her crossing a road late at night. The Uber’s minder wasn’t paying attention to the road.It’s also worth noting that the Leaf was recorded as a 2016 model, which wasn’t equipped with AEB as standard; driver safety aids like AEB and lane departure warning are also vital parts of the new technology mix.

Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester has confirmed the company’s focus in Australia will move towards EVs and SUVs, having today announced Nissan will pull out of the Supercars championship at the end of 2018.Citing that there are “other priorities” and that “strategies have changed” for Nissan Australia, Lester said the brand will put the spotlight on positioning itself as a technology leader.“Since my arrival we’ve taken stock of the market and what the possibilities would be,” Lester said. “There are currently no plans to consider other vehicles for racing in Supercars. We have aligned our strategy to focus on EVs, SUVs and Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”The company had been umming and ahhing on the potential for cars like its Leaf EV to succeed in the local market, but Lester stated the Leaf will come here because “the product strategy continues to evolve”.“We will explore all opportunities - this is a fantastic brand of ours, and where we see products that we see fit for Australian consumers we will be more than happy to offer them in Australia,” Lester said.Whether that could mean the relaunch of a full range of passenger cars, rather than the pared back line-up of today which consists of several SUVs, the Navara ute range and two sports cars - the 370Z and GT-R - remains to be seen.The question was put to Lester as to whether the company is considering models such as the Micra, Pulsar and Altima for relaunch locally, but he wasn’t willing to state categorically what the plans are.“As product plans go, it is a fluid process. My personal direction is not to abandon passenger cars. And we will see the Nissan Leaf on sale later this fiscal year, and from that you can see we will bring passenger cars back to the market.“With all product decisions, we will entertain opportunities to bring those vehicles to market. Whether that means the new-generation Altima will come or not is yet to be confirmed.”The decision for Nissan to leave Supercars won't mean there won't be an Altima on the track next year. The Kelly Bros racing team will continue with the mid-sized Nissan sedan as its racer in 2019, but it won't be officially backed by Nissan.The Altima - like the Falcon and previous-gen Commodore - aren't available for consumers to buy anymore. Nissan put the axe to Altima in April 2017, as well as chopping the Pulsar from its ranks.

NCAP currently has 192 employees and 13 casting machines, with 60 unique components produced for export to several markets.

While it doesn't look like it from where we sit in the Antipodes, Nissan has a proper hit on its hands with the all-electric hatchback, the Leaf.

Flares have never gone out of fashion in Japan and the annual Tokyo Auto Salon shows why.

The electric dream is fast turning into a nightmare - Australian sales of electric vehicles have dwindled to a trickle.