Nissan goes on an EV offensive because it faces a combat for survival: Under stress Japanese automotive large unveils THREE new electrical automobiles

Why launch one new electric car when you can launch three?

Nissan has today unveiled its all-new Leaf EV and confirmed it is to revive the iconic Micra name with a battery power supermini later this year.

To complete its hat-trick of reveals, the Japanese car giant has also showcased its new Juke – available for the first time as an EV – that will arrive in showrooms in 2026.

The Qashqai – one of Britain’s best-selling cars and a model largely credited with pioneering the SUV trend – will also be upgraded at Nissan’s Sunderland plant.

This mega-release of new electric models has been announced as the legacy car maker is said to be on the verge of collapse with the suggestion it only has just ‘12 months to survive’  following a downturn in sales triggered by a rise in popularity of cheap Chinese alternatives.

In February, talks of a billion-dollar merger with fellow Japanese manufacturer Honda to combine efforts to take on new Chinese rivals stalled.

With the car maker’s future still uncertain, here’s what we know about the three new EVs it hopes can keep it afloat…

All-new Micra EV

In chronological order, we start with the surprise of the Nissan Micra becoming an electric car when it returns to showrooms later this year.

Nissan says it will ‘remain true to the DNA of its predecessors’, which mixes ‘audacious style and simplicity in a compact package’.

Considering we only have studio images to go off, details are scarce.

But Nissan has confirmed that the new Micra will use the AmpR Small platform that underpins the new 5 E-Tech from its ‘alliance partner’ brand Renault – an electric car that has already won plenty of plaudits, including collecting the 2025 European Car of the Year gong.

Two battery choices will be available to UK customers: 40kWh and 52kWh with a maximum range of 248 miles. This is just shy of Renault’s reborn 5, which offers up to 250 miles on a single charge.

In terms of looks, it very much joins Renault’s 5 and forthcoming Twingo with retro  styling.

When it arrives in Britain’s showrooms, it will go head-to-head with Fiat’s Grande Panda – another iconic name reimagined for the EV generation.

The limited images of the Micra show a boxy silhouette with an interesting bug-eye headlight arrangement, which is inspired by the K12 Micras of old sold between 2002 and 2010.

Penned at Nissan’s Design Europe headquarters, it will be built at Ampere ElectriCity plant in Douai, France.

Sales will begin before the end of the year.

Third generation Nissan Leaf

The third generation of the all-new Nissan Leaf will be built at the UK home of Nissan – the Sunderland site, which is the biggest car plant in Britain and has a 6,000-strong workforce.

The Leaf was the first true mass market EV, launching in 2010 and going on to garner more than 650,000 sales worldwide by 2023.

But the new version will take on an entirely new identity.

While the first two generations of have been conventional family hatchbacks, the new Leaf has entered the ultra-competitive compact SUV segment.

Nissan says, along with its ‘historic nameplate’, it will attract buyers with its ‘eye-catching aerodynamic shape’.

The Japanese maker has introduced swooping lines, a lightbar across the front and a chiseled-out blanked-off grille. 

It’s been developed on the Nissan CMF-EV platform which it’ll share with the Ariya EV, its larger sibling.

Sunderland will manufacture the European version of the Leaf.

The state-of-the-art production facility is part of Nissan’s EV36Zero project – a blueprint that will transform Sunderland Plant into a flagship EV hub, bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production.

Juke becomes a pure electric car

For its third generation, the Nissan Juke will be reborn as a fully electric EV.

The compact crossover, which is one of the best-selling in the UK, will be based on the Hyper Punk concept car presented at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show and is part of a wider product update.

A shadowy studio image hints at a sportier, more angular coupe-style silhouette but really your guess is as good as ours at this point. 

It will arrive in 2026 but nothing else is known at present. 

Speaking about all the product updates in the coming years, Leon Dorssers, senior vice president, said: ‘All the new models will share common Nissan DNA: striking design, technical innovation and intuitive technology – a combination of qualities which we are confident will attract new buyers to Nissan, as well as continuing to appeal to existing customers who already love how Nissan vehicles enrich their daily lives.’

Nissan – a bold rebuild?  

Dorssers said: ‘The renewal of Nissan’s European line-up is the realisation of our bold plan to electrify our range in Europe.’

And it seems Nissan is now pursuing a strong EV path after last year’s troubling results.

The firm’s worldwide sales slumped by 3.8 per cent to 1.59 million vehicles in the first half of 2024, largely driven by a 14.3 per cent fall in China and a dip in demand in the US – the two biggest markets.

Then in December the announcement was made Nissan would axe 9,000 jobs globally – and 20 per cent of its manufacturing capacity, in order to reduce costs by £2bn.

It was said that the company could owe as much as $5.6billion in debt by 2026.

‘The root of the problems stem from a wave of cheaper EV alternatives coming from China that are flooding the global market and stealing market share away from the Japanese company,’ Forbes reported.

Despite being first on the market with the Leaf a decade and a half ago, Nissan has been left behind in recent years in the EV race. 

CEO Makoto Uchida commented in December: ‘This has been a lesson learned and we have not been able to keep up with the times.

‘We weren’t able to foresee that hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids would be so popular.’

Perhaps the new Micra, Leaf and Juke can bring Nissan back in the game?