Nissan pauses US imports of affordable Leaf variant
The third generation of the battery-electric Nissan Leaf was originally set to launch in the US with two powertrain and battery options. However, Nissan has now put the US launch of its most affordable version on hold. This refers to the Leaf in the S trim, which features a 130 kW motor and a 52 kWh battery and was expected to be priced under $28,000 in the United States.
Dominic Vizor, Director of Product Communications for the US, confirmed the pause in launch plans to InsideEVs: “Nissan continually evaluates market trends, customer preferences, and the evolving EV landscape to ensure we are focusing our resources where they create the most value. As part of that process, we have decided not to introduce the smaller‑battery variant of the 2026 Nissan LEAF in the U.S. this model year,” Vizor explained. If introduced at all, this version will not be available before 2027.
The world premiere of the third-generation Nissan Leaf took place in June 2025. The more expensive variant, equipped with a 75 kWh battery, has been available in the US since autumn, starting at $29,990 (before delivery costs). The Leaf is manufactured in Japan, and high import tariffs currently apply to shipments to the US. This likely played a significant role in the decision to delay the launch of the more affordable version.
Meanwhile, the new Leaf with the 52 kWh battery has been available for order in Germany for several days: Nissan is pricing the model from €35,950 in the country. With the larger battery, the Leaf starts at €41,200 in Germany. To see how the third generation of the Leaf performs on the road with its new concept, you can read our report from the first test drive; we took the new Leaf with the 75 kWh battery around Copenhagen last year.
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