Nissan's all-new 2026 LEAF EV comes at a critical time for automaker

Yahoo

6 hours ago

Nissan (NSANY) revealed the all-new 2026 LEAF EV, a big update to one of the original mainstream EVs offered in America. But the updated, compact EV comes at a precarious time for the automaker.
The new LEAF features a more standard design, an update to the prior-generation LEAF that looked like a hatchback version of the entry-level Versa.
Nissan went more upmarket with the LEAF, giving it a desirable crossover compact SUV form factor, along with looks inspired by its big brother, the Ariya EV.
Though the car features a new design, Nissan wanted to maintain the original LEAF's low pricing.
'We have not released final pricing on the vehicle, but fair to assume early on that [it will be in] the very low $30's [thousands],' with higher trims reaching $40,000, said Ponz Pandikuthira, senior vice president and chief planning officer for Nissan Americas.
While that's a bit more than the current LEAF, which starts at $28,140, Pandikuthria believes what's most important is maintaining a similar monthly payment, a metric Nissan will try to maintain when the LEAF goes on sale later this year.
Pandikuthria, whose role includes defining Nissan's future product portfolio and profitability, believes the new LEAF is a much-improved update to a car that's sold 700,000 units since its 2010 debut but 'never won any beauty pageants,' he said.
The LEAF will come in a front-wheel-drive-only configuration, with one electric motor driving the front wheels, but that means higher efficiency, translating to an estimated 303-mile range from its 75-kWh battery pack, a huge jump from the 212-mile range of the current LEAF SV Plus.
The new LEAF will also come with Tesla's NACS inlet port built in, providing easy access to Tesla's ubiquitous Supercharger network.
Speaking of Tesla (TSLA), the EV king is one of the brands Nissan is targeting, with the automaker shooting for a 70% conquest rate, Pandikuthria said. With the cheapest Model 3 coming in at around $42,500, there is an opportunity.
But Nissan faces a potential hurdle with tariffs. President Trump's auto sector tariffs of 25% apply to the Japanese-built LEAF, meaning an additional $7,500 in extra costs for the car, the majority of which Nissan will likely have to pass to the consumer. And the US and Japan left this week's G7 meeting without a trade deal.
Tariffs aside, Nissan is in a tough spot. The company posted a net loss of around $4.6 billion for fiscal 2024, and new CEO Iván Espinosa is targeting 20,000 job cuts and the closure of seven of its 17 global plants by 2027.
That being said, Nissan is trying to stem the losses in important markets like China and the US. The company intends to release 10 new and updated vehicles in North America by 2027.
The new LEAF is one of them. And Nissan needs it to be a hit.
Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.