It seems that the life cycle of the Nissan Leaf – one of the first mass and affordable electric cars on the market – is coming to an end. According to Automotive News, Nissan has no plans to produce a next-generation version of the Leaf and may even abandon the brand entirely.
Production of the current version of the Leaf is due to end by mid-decade. Three anonymous sources told the publication about this. A Nissan spokesman declined to speculate on the Leaf’s future, but said the company is seeing a ‘resurgence’ of interest in the Leaf amid strong demand for electric vehicles.
If Nissan does pull the plug on the Leaf, it will be the last compact electric car to fall prey to American buyers’ appetite for large SUVs. Currently, the Leaf is the only electric car that Nissan sells in the US. Later this year, the company will launch the Ariya, a new electric crossover with a range of up to 300 miles (about 483 km).
Based on some Nissan concepts, the Leaf could be replaced by a compact SUV that the company calls the Chill-Out. Nissan hasn’t released any specs or details about it, but the Chill-Out appears to be the closest to production of any of the company’s concepts. It resembles the Ariya but uses the smaller CMF-EV platform. That means it’ll probably be a bit cheaper than the $47,000 Ariya.
Whatever its future holds, the Leaf is sure to go down in history as the first successful mainstream electric car in the US.
