If you were waiting for the next-generation Nissan Leaf to arrive in Australia, don’t hold your breath.
In a battle to secure the future of the brand, Nissan is betting on hybrid power being the most important and popular powertrain technology of the future.
The Japanese brand is pulling back on it’s plans to introduce the next-generation Leaf EV car in Australia, hitting pause ‘indefinitely’ on the fully-electric SUV.
And while the long-awaited Ariya electric SUV has only logged 18 sales so far in 2026, local boss Andrew Humberstone doesn’t see that as a cause for concern.
“Ariya is arguably a premium product, if I can say, not the least expensive product in that space.” Humberstone, current Nissan Australia managing director, said.
MORE: Nissan’s crucial new cars arriving in 2026
“So, we recognise where it (Ariya) is. It’s why we put an indefinite hold on Leaf, because we don’t want to tarnish that at this stage.”
“I believe it’s necessary to have a fully electric vehicle. But I think the volumes will be, in our case, fairly small.”
Humberstone pointed to the broad competitive set in the electric SUV segment, with many models competing aggressively on price, as limiting the appeal of the Ariya.
“I would be very reluctant to expand too much, given the competitiveness of the market. I think it’s a downhill spiral.”
MORE: Nissan Ariya electric SUV given a facelift, weeks after Australian launch of current model
“I mean, you’ve got to be very careful. If you’re going to do that, then do it with a Chinese joint venture through a very, very cost-effective product. Not a premium product made in Japan.”
Instead of pinning the hopes of the brand on models like the Ariya and Leaf, Humberstone is taking a different approach.
“The brief was: how do we secure longevity in the market, beyond 20 years?” he said.
“So, it’s the ‘Future Back’ strategy, which is my space. Where do we see the future, with all of the competitors coming in, and with a shift to EV… well is it?”
MORE: Electric cars launching in Australia in 2026
“We have a view (on the shift to electric vehicles), and we’ve taken a call on it. And I reckon 75 per cent of all of the volume is going to sit – especially with Australian geography, mapping and infrastructure – around the hybrid, e-Power space.”
“This is influencing our strategy, because you need to have an EV, but it’s probably not silly to have an ICE (internal combustion engine) product.
“On the EV side, we’re actually saying: don’t bring Leaf at the moment, we defer indefinitely on Leaf, but let’s expand the portfolio in terms of e-Power.”
Humberstone pointed to the recent move to make the entire Qashqai range hybrid-powered, and plans to introduce a two-wheel-drive e-Power variant of the X-Trail, as part of Nissan’s hybrid-heavy strategy.
MORE: Nissan Ariya to be axed in USA after three years on sale – report
He also highlighted the development of Patrol and Navara four-wheel drives, both of which have adopted cleaner and more efficient powertrains.
This strategy also underpins the decision to remove Pathfinder and Juke from the Australian market, both of which did not have a hybrid powertrain available locally.
While the Juke small SUV is available in other markets with a hybrid powertrain, the Pathfinder – which comes from the United States – is only available with a 3.5-litre petrol V6.
The post Nissan pulls back on electric cars for Australia in favour of hybrids appeared first on Drive.
