New Nissan Leaf is here! Groundbreaking EV has morphed into an SUV

• All-new Nissan Leaf revealed
• Fully-electric SUV
• On sale later this year

The car that kickstarted the affordable electric car market is back for its third generation – say hello to the all-new Nissan Leaf. It’s bigger and more advanced than before, adopting a new electric platform and fresh SUV styling.

2025 is shaping up to be a big year for electric Nissans. Alongside the new Leaf, the Japanese brand has also unveiled the new Micra and confirmed that an all-new electric Juke will be heading our way soon, too.

What does the new Nissan Leaf look like?

So far, Nissan has revealed two images of the new Leaf to get us excited ahead of its full launch later this year. The changes from the old Leaf are pretty stark – it’s no longer a hatchback, after all – with a raised ride height and sleeker styling. Its sloping roofline gives it that half SUV, half coupe look that’s currently all the rage, a bit like the Smart #3 and Genesis GV60.

The Leaf’s front end takes Nissan’s styling in a new direction. It’s the brand’s first model in Europe to sport a full-width light bar across the nose – something that we’ll see on future Nissans, too. There are other unique touches, like the segmented daytime-running lights and the illuminating Nissan badge to help it stand out in what is a fairly crowded market in 2025.

Nissan describes it as an “eye-catching aerodynamic shape”, and it certainly looks a lot more curvaceous than the outgoing model. The Nissan Chill Out concept car from 2023 has been a clear inspiration, with the production Leaf picking up that car’s black-contrasting roof and alloy wheel design – although the latter has shrunk slightly. It even gets flush doorhandles, presumably to help make it as aerodynamic as possible and squeeze out a few extra miles of range.

What about the range and battery specs?

Speaking of, Nissan hasn’t revealed a range figure for the new Leaf yet. In fact, there’s very little technical information we know about it so far, besides the fact that it will use the same electric-only platform as the bigger Nissan Ariya. Known as ‘CMF-EV’, it’s an architecture shared with the Renault Megane, Renault Scenic and upcoming Alpine A390, following a partnership between the French and Japanese brands.

If the new Leaf is to share its battery with the Ariya, we could see an entry-level model using a 63kWh unit, possibly delivering upwards of 250 miles. The Ariya is also available with an 87kWh battery, although it’s unclear whether this bigger pack will be available in the Leaf. Like the Ariya and Renault EVs, the Leaf will use a front-mounted electric motor, although a high-performance, Nismo-badged model with dual motors could be on the cards in the future.

Nissan hasn’t revealed any interior images yet, but we’d expect the new Leaf to pick up a similar cabin to the Ariya. That could mean dual screens for the driver and for infotainment, plus a relatively simple, clutter-free dashboard design.

How much will the new Leaf cost?

Pricing remains a mystery at this point, but with new affordable electric cars hitting the UK market from all corners of the globe, the new Leaf won’t have the market to itself like the first-generation model did.

Nissan has committed to building the new Leaf at its UK plant in Sunderland. It will be built alongside a host of other electric Nissan models, including the new Juke and Qashqai.

You can find the latest used Nissan Leaf deals on our sister site Auto Express