Nissan’s local electric car plans are still a grey area.

MEDIA attention to Nissan dropping the virtually still-born Ariya here has drawn out additional brand comment about ‘where to next’ with EVs, but no full clarification.

The five-seater medium SUV being pulled 14 months on sale has been a shock move Nissan New Zealand has chosen not to publicise.

With the matter now out in the open, the Auckland distributor has today responded to inquiry about where it stands with electric cars, notably the third generation Leaf which is very close to regional availability.

However, it has done so with some reservation.

While making clear that Ariya has no chance of returning in an updated form that’s set to soon roll into production, it has also stopped short of offering absolute assurance Leaf is a definite starter.

A spokesman for the brand would offer only that: “We expect to share an update regarding the next-generation Leaf in the coming weeks.”

New Leaf’s potential timing for this part of the world has been signalled by Nissan Australia, of which Nissan NZ is a satellite.

The regional headquarters has previously indicated it will be taking Leaf as early as next month.

The new line is a massive step-up for the last. Dropping the previous hatchback format for a sports utility styling, the new Leaf adopts a much more advanced electric powertrain and improved battery cooling and management, leapfrogging the capabilities of the model it replaces, notably for performance and range.

Nissan Japan has previously suggested it is their most important new car of the period.

The nameplate also stands as NZ’s highest uptake EV, with more than 25,000 here, but that in itself likely lends no impetus for introduction of the new, as the great majority of those Leafs already here are ex-Japan used imports.

The previous car always struggled to sell as a brand-new product, only finding some decent sales pace at very end of its life, when stickers were absolutely slashed in a clearance exercise.

As for Ariya, which only introduced here 14 months ago?

Nissan NZ has made absolutely clear it cannot see any future for it here.

The Ariya landed late - it dates back to 2022, hence why the facelift was revealed at the Tokyo motor show last October - and only introduced after some prevarication.

It availed at time when Nissan’s electric count was bolstered by need to clean out residue stock of the old Leaf, but also when the EV sector was struggling.

That period, the final quarter of 2024, delivered 241 electric registrations for Nissan, but data specific to Ariya during 2025 showed it never took off, with just 70 registered.

The facelift would have been available very soon, but if you see one, it’ll be a grey import.

“There are no plans at this stage to introduce the updated Nissan Ariya to New Zealand,” the spokesman said.

“However, we will continue to monitor market conditions and policy settings and evaluate future product opportunities as part of our ongoing product planning process.”

Leaf has potential to replicate the Ariya’s mission.

The cars share a common platform and drivetrain technology and while slightly smaller on the outside, improved packaging will see the Leaf offer almost equivalent interior space. The cabin size is much improved over the old car. It also has a much more high-tech interior than the old Leaf..

What might prove more palatable is that Nissan Japan’s pitch is for Leaf to be considered a cheaper alternative to the donor. Indeed, some overseas markets have seen the new Leaf debut with a cheaper price than the model it replaces, when full recommended retails are compared.

Nissan is also busy launching the new Navara utility at the moment, but otherwise it’s only other potential impending product is the Chinese-built Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute, a competitor for the BYD Shark 6, Ford Range PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha. It’s regional availability times to either very late in 2026, or early 2027.