Can the Nissan LEAF Shoot to the Top of EV Sales Charts?
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The Nissan LEAF was once the gold standard for the EV market and EV sales. Yes, that was the very early days, and it was very early adopters who were buying it, but there’s no doubt the LEAF is one of the most notable cars in the modern electric vehicle era. Alas, shortsighted decisions on EV battery management and an increasingly competitive EV market knocked the LEAF off its perch, but the vehicle is coming back with a bang in 2026 — basically as an entirely new model.
The new LEAF is getting some real nods from the traditional auto world, too. It was a top 3 finalist for the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail, a very big (and widely criticized) right-wing media outlet in the UK, published an article this week titled “I drove Nissan’s fully updated Leaf… it could save the company from catastrophe.”
When the new LEAF was introduced, I was shocked by its price, specs, and new form factor. It immediately became one of the best options in the US in my eyes. Kyle Field’s test drives of the vehicle put it in good light, too. And note that it’s the top option on the market for $ per mile of range.
So, there’s been a question tingling my mind for a while now — can the LEAF become one of the top dogs in the EV market again, at least in the US if not globally? (Chinese brands are going to continue to dominate the global EV sales charts.)
Several years ago, the Nissan LEAF was logging 3,000–4,000+ sales a quarter in the USA. In more recent years, it’s been more like 1,000–2,000+. In the meantime, even some luxury EVs now see 5,000+ sales, the Chevy Blazer EV has been between about 6,000 and 8,000 sales a quarter, the Equinox EV has been between 10,000 and 20,000 (even hitting 25,085 in the 3rd quarter EV sales rush), the Ford F-150 Lightning 7,000–10,000+, the Ford Mustang Mach-E 10,000–20,000, the Honda Prologue 10,000–20,000, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 7,000–20,000, the Kia EV6 4,000–6,000, and Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y 30,000–100,000+. So, the LEAF could do much better.
It seems like Nissan should be able to sell 10,000 to 20,000 units of the new LEAF per quarter, or even 30,000 if it pushed! Frankly, I feel like that doesn’t even do it justice, but Nissan doesn’t have as big of a brand as most of these companies in the US, and I think that’s a bit much for the brand and model. However, even modest success relies on Nissan putting a lot of effort into producing the LEAF at high volumes, marketing it well, and selling so many units of it — and I can’t say I’m confident of Nissans plans or efforts there.
But … could we be reporting on the LEAF reaching 10,000+ sales a quarter next year? We better be! Otherwise, I’m going to see that as Nissan’s marketing and planning team really dropping the ball after being handed a gift by the design and manufacturing teams.
Should the Nissan LEAF at least be competitive with the Chevy Equinox EV, Honda Prologue, Hyundai IONIQ 5, and Ford Mustang Mach-E. It actually has specs-for-price numbers that should put it at the top of this group!
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