Nissan India recently unveiled its plans to expand its lineup to include four vehicles by FY26. While X-Trail and Magnite Facelift were the first two vehicles in that roadmap, the other two are Triber based sub 4m MPV by FY25 end and a Duster based C Segment SUV (5-seater and 7-seater) by FY26.
While for global markets, Nissan just showcased a bunch of new vehicles and two vehicles caught our attention the most. These are the new Micra (in EV guise) and new Leaf (in EV guise). Both these vehicles are almost production-spec and are set to launch in Europe by the end of calendar year 2025.
New Nissan Micra
Even though the new Nissan Micra is not likely to launch in India, the new model is quite enticing to look at. Showcased in its 5th Generation avatar, Micra has gone fully electric now, for the first time. Nissan had launched previous generation Micra in India a long time ago and it did not garner the success the company hoped for.
In contrast, Micra has come a long way and the 5th Gen model is based on 20-23 EV concept which was showcased a while ago. It gets circular LED DRLs that surround a horizontal bar-like LED headlight unit. Nissan calls it Puppy-Dog headlights. We can see a flat-ish bonnet and crossover-like body claddings painted in gloss black.
Side silhouette is strong and is likely to prove timeless. There’s a shark fin antenna and a floating effect for its roof. Based on CMF-BEV platform shared with Renault 5, 5th Gen Nissan Micra is a pure EV for the first time and gets 40 kWh and 52 kWh battery pack options with around 400 km of claimed range.
New Nissan Leaf
One look at the new 3rd Gen Nissan Leaf, it is immediately evident that the company is going for a crossover SUV design with a sloping roofline. Which is interesting because Nissan Leaf has always been an SUV. It bears an aerodynamic design with around 0.25 Cd air drag coefficient for maximum range and performance.
It gets a protruding Nissan logo (illuminated) along with full width LED DRLs ending in a boomerang-shaped LED headlight design. The wheel design is quite interesting and sloping roofline appeal is notable too. It has a charging port on right front quarter panel, which is not the case with 5th Gen Micra.
That is because 3rd Gen Nissan Leaf is positioned on CMF-EV platform, similar to the one seen in Nissan Ariya. Specifications of 3rd Gen Nissan Leaf are not out and we can expect around 600 km range from a large battery. New Leaf will be produced at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in UK, while New Micra will be manufactured by Renault.
If we take a look at Nissan’s progress in the global market, the company seems to be on the backfoot. We can see it losing sales and market share and the potential partnership with Honda remains a big question mark. Amidst all these, Nissan has had changes in leadership as well, now led by the new CEO, Ivan Espinosa.
