MyOpinion

The Nissan LEAF is now a crossover with some pretty major upgrades. Nissan unveiled the third-gen EV, dropping the iconic hatch design for a stylish crossover. It now has significantly more range, and it even has an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. Here’s our first look at the new Nissan LEAF EV.

Underpinned by its new CMF-EV platform, the same one underpinning the Ariya SUV, Nissan promises the new LEAF will have “significant range improvements” over the outgoing model. It will also be available with 19″ alloy wheels and a panoramic moonroof for the first time.

One of the most exciting upgrades is that the new LEAF will be Nissan’s first EV with an integrated NACS port so you can charge up at Tesla Superchargers. This alone will make it more competitive in the US.

Nissan said more details will be shared mid-year. However, Nissan vehicle programs chief, Francois Bailly, told TopGear.com the new LEAF is expected to have 373 miles (600 km) driving range (WLTP). It will draw power from Nissan’s new 3-in-1 EV powertrain.

The new LEAF will arrive in the US and Canada later this year, joining the Ariya electric SUV. It will be one of ten new and refreshed vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands.

Three things are no secret: 1) Elon Musk benefits more than any other individual from Tesla’s success, 2) Elon Musk has gotten extremely involved in political matters (emphasis on “extremely”), and 3) many people won’t buy Tesla products because of those first two facts.

New research from JW Surety Bonds finds that 1 out of 4 Americans “avoid Tesla’s technology due to their opinions on Elon Musk.” That’s a full quarter of the US public that won’t consider great electric vehicles, including the best selling vehicle in the world, because of Musk’s highly abnormal involvement in US politics.

Before we get to more of the research, it should also be noted that Musk has been getting more and more involved, including in highly abnormal and extremely right-wing ways, in European politics — in the UK, Italy, Germany, and other major auto markets. Without a doubt, this is starting to impact consumer behavior in Europe as well.

I can’t think of anything else as significant in consumer product sales. Yes, there are some other highly politically engaged business people, but they aren’t so directly involved or tied to significant mass-market products. (I’m not counting the MyPillow guy, for example.) There are founders and CEOs of major corporations who are known political actors, but not so openly and loudly that they draw widely significant scrutiny or tarnish the brand they represent.

Over the past decade, Chinese automakers have staged a stunning rise in the auto industry, establishing a clear lead over the U.S. and Europe in democratizing electric vehicles. Now the latest sales data suggests that the country is so far ahead in electrification that a miracle would be needed for others to catch up or come even remotely close.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association, posted on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, indicates that China's EV market accounted for a whopping 76% of global EV sales in October. That figure represents new energy vehicles (NEVs), as they're called in China, which include both fully electric models and plug-in hybrids.

Of the 14.1 million NEVs sold globally between January and October, 69% were in China, as per the CPCA. The U.S. accounted for less than 10% of this, with about 1.28 million EVs and PHEVs sold during the same period. Automakers in Europe sold about 2.32 million units in the first eight months of the year, but that growth is now slowing down as legacy brands in the continent struggle to sell EVs.

When you break down 'NEVs' into EVs and PHEVs, things also look good. From January to October, China's share of fully electric global sales stood at 63.2%. The share of PHEVs reached 78%. Simply put, much of the EV mass adoption is driven by China and Norway, with the former having a far greater statistical significance.