Nissan takes electric vehicle battle to Tesla with longer-range Leaf

Chiba, Japan

NISSAN Motor Co Ltd launched a revamped version of its Leaf electric vehicle (EV) on Wednesday, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc's Model 3 and beating off criticism that a limited driving range will dull its mass-market appeal.

The new Leaf, on sale in Japan from Oct 2 and elsewhere early next year, has a range of about 241 kilometres on a single charge, according to US environmental regulator estimates, up from its predecessor's 172 km thanks to a bigger, 40-kilowatt- hour battery.

Nissan has also given its marquee electric model a sporty facelift and a price tag starting at 3.15 million yen (S$39,157), and packed it with the latest automated functions including single-lane highway driving and self-parking…