TOKYO – Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it will roll out the new Leaf electric vehicle in Japan next week, hoping the latest model with a longer driving distance and shorter charging time will help turn around its sluggish business.
Turning its flagship EV from a hatchback into a crossover, Nissan will introduce the third-generation model in its home market on Oct. 17 with a starting price of 5.19 million yen ($34,000).
The new Leaf runs 702 kilometers on a single charge and its battery can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 35 minutes using a quick charger.
Nissan aims to attract customers with the 50 percent longer range and 15-minute shorter charging time, while pricing it lower than the previous equivalent-grade model at 5.25 million yen. A shorter-range version of the new Leaf is slated for release in February.
The launch comes at a difficult time when global EV demand is slowing and the tax credit for EV purchases recently ended in the U.S. market under the administration of President Donald Trump.
In Japan where hybrid and plug-in vehicles remain more popular than battery EVs, competition is intensifying with China’s BYD Co. and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. entering the domestic EV market in recent years following U.S. EV maker Tesla Inc.
“We welcome more players coming into the market, as it will stimulate customers’ interest,” Nissan Chief Product Specialist Keiji Endo said at a press briefing.
The rollout of the new model in Japan will follow its recent debut in the U.S. market and come ahead of its release in Europe next spring. Nissan has no plan to sell the model in China, the world’s largest auto market.
The Japanese carmaker is struggling to rebuild its faltering sales in key global markets such as China and Japan and looking for new partnership after its failed attempt to team up with Honda Motor Co.
Nissan has sold 700,000 Leaf EVs worldwide since the first model was introduced in 2010, compared with its overall sales of 3.3 million vehicles in the year ended March 2025.
“We hope the enhanced battery life and shorter charging time will attract customers in Japan…, otherwise we will just be targeting a closed world of 2 percent,” Chief Marketing Manager Akira Teranishi said, referring to EVs’ share of the overall auto market in Japan.
Nissan builds the new Leaf at its Tochigi plant in Japan for the domestic and U.S. markets and at its Sunderland plant in Britain for the European market.
AloJapan.com