Trailblazing Nissan Leaf to be reborn as a coupe-SUV in 2025

The Nissan Leaf has taken the electric car market by storm, becoming one of the best-selling electric cars on the market since its launch in 2011. With the second-generation car now a little long in the tooth, focus has turned to its successor. With a little help from teaser videos, hints from Nissan’s bosses and previous concept cars, our exclusive image previews how the next Leaf could look.

We’ve known for a while that the next-gen Nissan Leaf wouldn’t be returning in the family hatchback form we’ve become accustomed to, and it would instead be transformed into a crossover SUV. The Leaf is set to be based on the Renault-Nissan AmpR Medium platform (formerly CMF-EV), the same underpinnings found on the Renault Scenic E-Tech, Renault Megane E-Tech and the Leaf’s sibling, the Nissan Ariya.

Eagle-eyed Nissan fanatics might recognise some styling elements, like the coupe-esqe roofline, squared-off rear end and raised ride height from the Japanese brand’s Chill-Out concept revealed way back in 2021. Nissan president and CEO Makoto Uchida confirmed that the concept would become the next-generation Leaf last year, with Nissan’s VP of Design for Europe, Matthew Weaver, explaining that the design of the Leaf and the Chill-Out concept are close and “true to form” thanks to the “triumph of efficiency and engineering.”

Speaking to DrivingElectric, Weaver explained further that “the Chill-Out concept was very clean, very cool, and those elements are still coming through on the production-ready version”. He confirmed that “things like aerodynamics and [vehicle] packaging are really at the forefront of the importance. There have been some changes, but you can definitely see where the DNA has come from” and they were “nearing completion”.

The headlight cluster design differs slightly from the initial Chill-Out concept and the front of the car is likely to be more pointed. How do we know this? Well, Nissan recently shared shadowy images, as well as a video, of the new Leaf when the company announced its business plan to launch three new electric cars in Europe by 2026. The signature black V-motion grille and boomerang-styled lights, similar to those found on the Ariya, could also feature on the Leaf. Don’t expect the Leaf to resemble any other Nissan model though, with Weaver saying that “we don’t want to do clones. We try to make each car quite individual.”

One benefit of the new Nissan Leaf sharing the same AmpR Medium platform as the Megane E-Tech, Scenic E-Tech and Nissan Ariya is that we already have an idea of what the powertrain and battery specification might be. We expect the Leaf to have most in common with the Megane which has a 217bhp electric motor and a 60kWh battery, offering up to 280 miles of range, although the sleek aerodynamic shape of the Leaf means it could go further on a single charge.

On the inside, we’re likely to see Nissan’s newest infotainment system, found in the new facelifted Qashqai, based on Google’s Android Automotive operating system.

Nissan is yet to confirm when the next-generation Leaf is likely to be revealed or arrive in showrooms, but there are rumours that it could enter production in early 2025, so it could be revealed before the year is up. The third-generation Leaf will be built at Nissan’s UK plant in Sunderland, alongside the next-generation Juke and Qashqai, after up to £3 billion worth of investment was earmarked for the facility back in 2023.