Is the Nissan Leaf on its way out?

The Nissan Leaf is one of the pioneering electric vehicles in the Philippines. After Toyota’s Prius hit our shores, the Leaf followed suit. As of this article, the model you see in the local showrooms is the generation two variant. 

Based on an article by Automotive News, the leaf may be heading to the end of the line. The article also states there will be no replacement but we may be seeing a new unit from the Japanese car maker. The leaf currently is being built in three factories, Japan, the US and the UK, and reports of a new EV from the Sunderland UK plant have gone viral.

With Nissan heavily investing in all-electric cars, manufacturing sites, and in-house battery production. They hoped to release four new models and achieved mass scaling. They also aspired to achieve sales of 150,000 units and 200,000 battery packs alone in the US. Even in its best year, Nissan only sold 30,200 units in the US. 

With new models like the Ariya and locally, the Kicks e-Power, starting to gain momentum; the Leaf will have a couple of more years to thrive. With some reports that Nissan will expand its lineup to 23 electrified cars (15 being all-electric), the Leaf may be transformed into a crossover so that it would appeal more to the market.

We should take these reports with a huge grain of salt (And maybe with some tequila). But no one knows what will happen tomorrow. The Leaf is a very capable vehicle and is good for the environment. But when the competition comes up with more capable and cheaper EVs, plus the fact that sales are not what is expected, Nissan may be rethinking its strategy for the Leaf.