Nissan to phase out pioneering electric Leaf

Nissan is facing up to the fact that it struggled for more than a decade to sell a pioneering electric vehicle that the U.S. was not ready for — and which, in the end, fell behind the competitors that followed it.

Long before Tesla made EVs cool, Nissan attempted to spark the segment with the first affordable, mass-market electric car, launched in the U.S. in late 2010.

But the compact Leaf has since been largely elbowed off the road by a wave of more stylish and more capable offerings.

Nissan does not plan to bring out a next-generation Leaf and instead will replace it with a new model more tuned to the needs of the modern EV buyer, three sources told Automotive News. Sources were split on whether the Leaf name would continue. Production of the current Leaf is expected to end by mid-decade.

Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman declined to speculate on the future of the Leaf but noted “renewed” customer interest because of the vehicle’s “value proposition” and the growing demand for EVs.

— Urvaksh Karkaria