Nissan said it right from the start, when the Leaf was launched. There would be other electric models from this company, and here’s another one. It’s still a concept, but it will become a production model next year. Compared to the Nissan Leaf, this LE concept has a classic three-box styling, and it’s about 12 inches longer. It’s also much more distinctive, with a large front grille which doesn’t give any clue of the car’s electric drive.

An interesting feature is a reversed Hofmeister kink on the C-pillar. It’s nice to see a premium brand that don’t want to copy BMW! The swoopy beltline is less successful, but at least it’s contemporary. On the propulsion, there’s some good and some bad. The good part is that this LE concept is more aerodynamic than the Leaf (Cd value is .25 versus .29). Then this car has more power. 100 kW and 240 lb-ft of torque when the Leaf has 80 kW and 208 lb-ft. The downside is that this Infiniti shares its battery with the Leaf.

It has the same pack of 192 cells storing 24 kWh. Since the Infiniti is larger and more luxurious, it should be heavier too. So we have more weight and more power, and that sould give less range. Best we could get from a Nissan Leaf was 84 miles, this LE concept could get even less… Hardly exciting, but maybe drivers will enjoy the thrill of driving the one and only luxury electric midsize on the market. The concept also highlights an intelligent wireless charging device (watch the video below), with intelligent parking assistance system. We doubt the production model will get it as standard equipment, but it could be a nice option.