Nissan is going to kill the Leaf as we know it

Tuesday, 19 October 2021

The Nissan Leaf is about to go under the knife to become a crossover SUV.

Nissan is about to drop the longstanding Leaf, it has been reported.

But it will bring it back almost immediately with a new crossover SUV body shape, according to Nissan’s European boss, Guillaume Cartier.

Cartier spoke to Autocar UK recently, confirming the new crossover will use the MF-EV platform shared by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and be built in Sunderland, in the UK, alongside the Juke, Leaf and Qashqai.

That platform is the same that will underpin the electric Ariya SUV, but there’s no word on if that model will donate any of its electricals to the reborn Leaf.

As a refresher, the Ariya will come with a few different power options.

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The Ariya will donate its platform and, with any luck, its powertrain to the third-generation Leaf.

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The top-tier AWD Performance Aria gets an 87kWh battery, which sends energy to two motors, one per axle. Output is 290kW/600Nm, allowing a 0-100kmh sprint time of 5.1 seconds.

If you’d rather, a two-wheel drive version will be available too, with 160kW/300Nm on tap. A smaller battery is available too to offer a lower-cost Aria, sized at 63kWh. That could work for a crossover Leaf, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Nissan wants its entire range to be electrified by 2025, according to Autocar, either using full electric power or its E-power hybrid set-up.

There’s no word on how the Navara ute will be affected, although considering the update last year was a heavy facelift rather than an all-new model, there’s still room for a ground-up refresh. It will share DNA with the Mitsubishi Triton as well.

Nissan will lean on the Alliance for other segments as well, including a small car to replace the Micra.

“We will look to the Alliance for a full line-up and powertrains,” said Cartier. “One topic that is still open is the entry [the Micra-sized replacement]. Key point is how we offer something from the Alliance with the Nissan brand.”

He added that making it profitably was the main issue, and that the car “absolutely” would be an EV.

Meanwhile, Nissan’s CEO, Makoto Uchida, has confirmed it will not be pursuing hydrogen power.

“Our competitors have many solutions for technology,” he said. “For us, we decided EVs. We used to have hydrogen technology at Nissan, and maybe in a different world, we still would. But so far, this [EVs] is our asset, and what we want to be on.”

More information on Nissan’s electric plans will be revealed soon, he added.