TOKYO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) has

reduced its production plan for the new model of its Leaf

electric vehicle by more than half for September-November owing

to delays in battery procurement, the Nikkei business daily said

on Tuesday.

Lower than expected battery yields at a Nissan ( NSANF ) affiliate had

caused the revision, the Nikkei said, adding that the Japanese

automaker planned to release the new EV model by the end of the

year.

The newspaper did not specify the original or revised

production targets but said that the output plan has been cut by

up to several thousand vehicles a month at its Tochigi plant in

eastern Japan, where the new version of the Leaf is made for the

U.S. and Japanese markets.

Nissan ( NSANF ) said it did not have any comment on speculative

reports, adding that the new model was progressing on schedule

towards its planned launch.

The company, which has gone from mass-market EV pioneer to

laggard since its first model entered showrooms in 2010, is

betting on the new version of its Leaf model to revive its

fortunes.

This is not the first time Nissan's ( NSANF ) EV production has hit a

snag. Another of Nissan's ( NSANF ) electric vehicles, the Ariya, was

hampered by problems at its high-tech production line at the

Tochigi plant in 2023, Reuters reported at the time.

Shares in Nissan ( NSANF ) closed 0.4% down before the Nikkei report,

underperforming a 0.3% gain for the benchmark Nikkei average

.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Satoshi

Sugiyama

Editing by Alex Richardson and David Goodman

)