2025 Nissan Leaf replacement to be ‘mini-Ariya’ small SUV

UPDATE: 2025 Nissan Leaf replacement to be ‘mini Ariya’ small SUV

The successor to the Nissan Leaf electric car will become a “coupe-styled” Juke-sized small SUV.

Industry publication Automotive News [↗] reports that Nissan’s new electric vehicle was demonstrated to Nissan retailers in the United States at its annual dealer conference last week.

A dealer source said the Leaf replacement will offer 25 per cent more range than the current electric hatchback – rising to just below 500km – and look like a “mini-Ariya”.

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Nissan Ariya

Nissan also reportedly showcased an electric “performance sedan” tipped to replace the not-for-Australia Maxima, and another crossover based on the same CMF-EV platform as the mid-size Ariya.

The Leaf replacement would likely be based on a shortened version of the CMF-EV platform, potentially shared with the forthcoming Nissan Micra and Renault 5 electric hatches.

Our earlier stories, below, continue unchanged.

Jordan Hickey

May 24: New third-gen Nissan Leaf coming, likely based on Megane E-Tech

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A new 2026 Nissan Leaf has been confirmed, the Japanese brand announcing this week that it will build the new model in the UK at its Sunderland plant.

There are still many details unknown, however, including what form the new model will take – and whether it will even be called Leaf.

In a submission to the UK government on its commitment to EV manufacturing, published this week by Autocar [↗], Nissan said "the Leaf successor vehicle will enter production in 2026".

Of course, "the Leaf successor vehicle" could mean it won't wear the Leaf badge, and won't use the hatchback form we've now seen for two-ish generations of the Leaf.

There's a decent chance the new model – let's call it Leaf for now – will take much of its architecture and perhaps even some of its styling from the ~$70k Renault Megane E-Tech, given both bands form part of the same parent company and now have a long history of sharing.

The jacked-up Chill-out concept, revealed in late 2021, is also expected to be a preview of the Leaf successor's looks.

However it looks and whatever it's called, one thing is for sure: don't expect the new third-gen model to come in the form of a regular hatch. Like the Megane's evolution into the Megane E-Tech compact SUV, the hatch ain't coming back.

Mike Stevens

January 2023: New Nissan Leaf electric hatch imagined

Launched globally in 2010, and locally in 2012, Nissan's quirky five-door Leaf hatchback was an early pioneer of mainstream electric transport.

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2024 Nissan Leaf renderings by Theottle

Of course, other major electric players have either caught up, or arisen completely, since then, and, even now in its second generation, the humble Nissan Leaf is no longer a spring chicken.

The as yet unconfirmed for Australia Nissan Ariya represents the face of the Japanese carmaker's next major step into the all-electric future, which hangs doubt over the long-serving Leaf – which is slated for end of production by 2025 with, as yet, no word official word of any sort of successor.

Digital artist Theottle has imagined what a future iteration of Nissan's heavily charged nameplate might look like.

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2024 Nissan Leaf renderings by Theottle

The imaginary third-gen Nissan Leaf reflects much of the Ariya's visual design and identity, translating it to the lower-slung silhouette of the Leaf, with a subtly stretched wheelbase and more sharply raked windscreen.

Can you see something like this in future Nissan showrooms? Would you be interested in a future Leaf like this? Let us know in the comments below!

Below: the current, second-gen Leaf

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The current second-generation of the Leaf was launched in Australia initially in 2019, and has been facelifted for 2023.

The single-pronged range was then bolstered by a bigger-battery Leaf e+ in 2021.

Throughout 2022, 331 new Nissan Leafs were registered across the country, down from 367 in 2021.

Below: the first-gen Nissan Leaf in its 2014 guise

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The pioneering original Nissan Leaf launched globally in 2010, and locally in mid-2012.

Since its initial launch Down Under, the Nissan Leaf has recorded more than 2000 sales nationally. Approximately 600,000 have been sold globally over the past 12 years.