Nissan has shown off two crucial new electric models - the next Micra and the third generation of Leaf - and hinted at a new electric Juke as the company tries to underpin its future.
Nissan has been in the financial pages' headlines lately for all the wrong reasons, but the Japanese giant is fighting back. One of the big pillars of its turnaround will be the third generation of Leaf.
Is it much different to the current Leaf?
Since its launch in 2012, the Leaf has been a five-door hatchback, but the third-generation version, shown off for the first time today, will become a sleek crossover instead. The car will once again be built in Nissan's plant in Sunderland in the UK - apparently securing the future of that factory for the foreseeable - and will share its CMF-EV platform with the Nissan Ariya and, therefore, also distantly the Renault Scenic and Megane.
According to Nissan: “2025 also represents the return of a historic nameplate, Leaf - a badge forever associated with the pioneering EV which started the mass-market electric vehicle revolution when it was introduced in 2010. The third generation of Leaf will attract buyers thanks to its eye-catching aerodynamic shape. It has been developed on Nissan's CMF-EV platform, architecture it shares with its larger sibling, the Ariya.”
How far will it go on a charge?
Nissan hasn't issued any official figures for the battery nor the range of the new Leaf, but there has been some discussion that the new EV will be able to hit as much as 600km on one charge - comparable to rivals such as the Renault Scenic, Skoda Elroq, and Ford Explorer - and that suggests that there will be a big battery option of around 80kWh capacity. That would also suggest that there should be a smaller battery option too, of around 60kWh, to keep the base price within reach of an average car buyer.
We do know that the Leaf will be available with options such as 19-inch alloy wheels and a full-length panoramic glass roof and that in the US, it will be compatible with the NACS plugs used by Tesla Superchargers. Nissan is also boasting that its new '3-in-1' electric motor - which combines the motor, the reduction gear, and the power inverter into one module - will help the new Leaf be even more efficient.
What about the new Micra?
The Leaf will get a more detailed launch later this year and should be on sale by early 2026. It will be joined by the new Micra, long-since teased as a car designed by Nissan's London-based styling studio. The new small EV will share a platform with the Renault 5 E-Tech.
That means it will be available with 40kWh and 52kWh batteries for a maximum range of 410km or thereabouts. It will also share the Renault's 120hp and 150hp electric motors. The new Micra will be built in the same factory in Douai, France, as its Renault cousin and should be priced at a similar level to the Renault's €25,990 starting price in Ireland.
The style very clearly harks back to previous Micra, especially the K10 and K11 models with the large, round LED lights at the front, although the rear end is a little boxier than you might have thought.
I spy a third car in the photos…
You certainly do - there's a hint of the next-generation Juke, which will also go all-electric and is expected to go on sale in 2026. So far, Nissan has only shown a very dimmed image of the car, but it's easy enough to see that the dramatic rear roofline of the previous two models has been carried over, and there are very slim LED lights mounted up high on the leading edge of the bonnet in an arrowhead formation.
There are no technical details for the Juke yet, but it's expected that it, like the Leaf, will be based on the CMF-EV platform. This would potentially make it a larger car than the current model and allow for long-range batteries, too.
Nissan's also going to update and upgrade its e-Power hybrid system - the one where an electric motor does all the driving and the petrol engine is just there as a generator. 1.6 million e-Power equipped cars have been sold around the world since the technology was first introduced in the Japan-market Note. Nissan claims that its new third-generation e-Power system will be 15 per cent more efficient at motorway cruising speeds, in part because its new electric motor shares some of the efficiency-improving tech as the new Leaf's motor. Emissions will be trimmed, and noise and vibration are also said to be improved. The first of the new e-Powertrain systems will debut in the Qashqai later this year.
Speaking about all the product updates in the coming years, Leon Dorssers, Regional Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Nissan AMIEO (Africa, Middle-East, India, Europe & Oceania) region, said: “The renewal of Nissan's European line-up is the realisation of our bold plan to electrify our range in Europe. All the new models will share common Nissan DNA: striking design, technical innovation and intuitive technology – a combination of qualities which we are confident will attract new buyers to Nissan, as well as continuing to appeal to existing customers who already love how Nissan vehicles enrich their daily lives.”
Nissan is also planning an expansion of its luxury Infiniti range, primarily for the US and Japanese markets, including a new QX65 crossover coupe and a fully electric Infiniti-E SUV. These will be of limited interest to us, as Infiniti has withdrawn from Europe and never made it officially to Ireland in the first place.