It seems that the life cycle of the Nissan Leaf – one of the first mass-produced and affordable electric vehicles on the market – is coming to an end. According to Automotive News, Nissan has no plans to release a next generation version of the Leaf and may even drop the brand entirely.
Production of the current version of the Leaf should be discontinued by the middle of the decade. Three anonymous sources said this to the publication. A Nissan spokesman declined to speculate about the Leaf’s future, but said the company is seeing a “renewed” interest in the Leaf amid strong demand for electric vehicles.
If Nissan does ditch the Leaf, it will be the last compact EV to fall prey to the appetite of American buyers looking to buy large SUVs. The Leaf is currently the only electric car that Nissan sells in the US. Later this year, the company will release the Ariya, a new electric SUV 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 is similar to the Ariya but uses the smaller CMF-EV platform. This means it will likely be slightly cheaper than the $47,000 Ariya.
Whatever its future, the Leaf is sure to go down in history as the first successful mass-produced electric car in the US.
Source: The Verge
