As Nissan’s global restructuring continues, plans for an electric version of the Qashqai SUV have been shelved.

The Qashqai EV would have introduced an electric version of the brand’s top-selling model in the UK and Europe, but Reuters has published a report from company insiders revealing the cancellation of the project.

To be built at Nissan’s underutilised Sunderland factory in the UK, the Qashqai EV has been in development since 2023, and was to be manufactured alongside two other EVs, the Leaf and recently revealed next-generation Juke.

Those two models appear safe for now, but plans for the Qashqai EV have been shelved as Nissan looks for cost savings across its operations.

Sources indicate that pressure from ultra-competitive Chinese EVs, and proposed changes to European taxes that could lock UK-manufactured vehicles out of duty exemptions designed to level the field for European brands against Chinese-built vehicles, have shaped the decision.

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The British Government is currently consulting with car manufacturers to reframe the country’s EV targets. A move that could assist Nissan as it pivots to an expansion of electrified (hybrid) rather than fully-electric vehicles. 

The full cancellation, rather than a simple development pause, for the Qashqai EV means that Nissan would need to restart the program if it decided to push ahead with an electric Qashqai. The resulting timeline would mean an introduction sometime after 2030, instead of the forecast 2027 launch.

The Qashqai EV joins two planned electric crossover SUVs for the North American market on Nissan’s list of recent cancelled projects. Vehicles like the electric Micra and Ariya are set to continue.

In June, Nissan announced that it had entered discussions with Chinese brand Chery to use one of two production lines at Nissan’s Sunderland factory as a contract manufacturing line for Chery vehicles.

While not yet fully approved, Nissan announced that its current production of Juke, Leaf, and Qashqai would be consolidated onto a single line at Sunderland.