Nissan Leaf may come to India in 2018

Electric cars have not managed to catch the fancy of Indian buyers yet for various reason. However, that does not stop the carmakers from trying their luck with electric models in India. While we already have Mahindra making e2o, e2o Plus and the e-Verito, it looks like one more is on its way to join the electric car line-up.

A report of CarandBike says that Japanese carmaker Nissan is planning to bring its electric car the Leaf to India. The Leaf, which will be part of the Auto Expo 2018, is expected to be launched in the country the same year. While other details of the launch are yet to be known, it is being said that the Leaf electric car will be brought to India as CBU (completely built-up) Units. This would make it difficult for Nissan as the CBU invites heavy import duties, which would in turn reflect in the cost of the Leaf in India. However, it would be interesting to watch how the Japanese carmaker positions the vehicle in India even though the leaf would not be a volume-seller.

The Leaf gets power from a lithium-ion battery-driven electric motor, which can generate 107bhp and has a range of 160km. It takes up to 8 hours to charge the battery and features regenerative braking system. When braking, the regenerative braking system will generate electricity and that it can be used to recharge the car's batteries.

According to the latest report, the Leaf is likely to see a price tag of around Rs 35 lakh in India. If Nissan bring Leaf to India, the electric car would benefit from the FAME ((Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of hybrid and Electric vehicles) scheme launched by the government of India, which is offering incentives of up to Rs 29,000 on electric and hybrid vehicles.