The brand new Nissan LEAF is an improve in each manner attainable and will arrive at dealerships any day now, however getting your arms on one might not be really easy.
The brand new Nissan LEAF is lastly right here, however it might be restricted
Nissan’s iconic electrical hatch is returning with a brand new crossover type, over 300 miles of driving vary, and it even has an NACS port so you’ll be able to recharge at Tesla Superchargers (and we bought an opportunity to test it out).
Just like the OG LEAF, the brand new mannequin will probably be one of the inexpensive EVs in the marketplace. In truth, Nissan claims the brand new LEAF has “the bottom beginning MSRP for any new EV at present on sale within the US.”
With beginning costs at simply $29,990, the 2026 Nissan LEAF is cheaper than the first-generation mannequin, launched in 2011 for $32,780.
Regardless of the upgrades, it’s much more inexpensive than the present 2025 mannequin 12 months, which begins at $34,230. It virtually sounds too good to be true.
In accordance with Nikkei, Nissan reduce manufacturing plans for the brand new LEAF by greater than half for September by means of November.
The considerably decrease output is because of a battery scarcity at Nissan’s Tochigi plant in Japan, the place the brand new LEAF is made for the US and home market.
The batteries are provided by AESC, which Nissan nonetheless owns a partial stake in. Nissan officers mentioned LEAF manufacturing will probably be reduce by a number of thousand models in some months with “significantly steep reductions” in September and October.
Electrek’s Take
Since Nissan nonetheless can’t safe the batteries wanted, the manufacturing snag might affect gross sales, the report famous. With Nissan betting on the brand new LEAF as a cornerstone of its comeback plans, this may very well be one other main blow for the Japanese automaker.
For the primary time, Nissan dropped out of the highest 10 international automakers by gross sales within the first half of 2025 because it faces new threats from Tesla and lower-cost Chinese language EV makers like BYD.
Earlier this week, Honda launched the N-ONE e, its first electrical kei automobile that may go head-to-head with Nissan’s Sakura, the best-selling EV in Japan. BYD can also be set to launch its first mini EV in Japan.
Nissan bought 1.61 million autos, 6% fewer than within the first half of 2024, and its lowest in 16 years. If manufacturing doesn’t enhance, it is going to be an much more uphill battle for Nissan because it appears to claw its manner again.
