The iconic electric hatch is all grown up and will arrive later this month. Nissan’s iconic EV is now a stylish crossover with more range, faster charging, and several other upgrades. Ahead of its global debut, Nissan is offering us a closer look at the third-gen LEAF EV with a few new photos and details.
Nissan LEAF EV photos and global debut date
Nissan is upgrading its best-selling EV in nearly every way possible. We got a sneak peek of the new model in March, but it was essentially a preview.
On Tuesday, Nissan shared several new photos and a few insights we can expect to see from the updated LEAF EV when it arrives later this month.
The LEAF is dropping the hatchback style we’ve grown to love (or hate) for a “sleek and spacious family-friendly crossover” design. Nissan’s design and engineering teams worked together to give it a bold new look, but it’s also surprisingly efficient.
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With a drag coefficient of just 0.26, the new model (US and Japan-spec) is about as aerodynamic as an average sports car. In Europe, it’s even more impressive at just 0.25 Cd, down from 0.28 Cd in the outgoing LEAF.
Richard Candler, Vice President, Nissan global product strategy, next to the third-generation LEAF EV (Source: Nissan)
All new models (US, Japan, and Europe) feature added flush door handles, an active grille shutter, improved wheel design, a new fastback silhouette, and a flat underbody for better efficiency.
“Every design choice was optimized for aero and energy efficiency, even the panoramic glass roof contributes to exceptional aerodynamics,” according to Nissan’s program design director, Nobutaka Tase.
The third-gen LEAF is based on Nissan’s CMF-EV platform, the same one that underpins the Ariya electric SUV. Although Nissan has yet to confirm the battery specs, it promises that the new model will have “significant range improvements” compared to the outgoing LEAF.
We may have an idea after Nissan’s vehicle programs chief, François Bailly, told TopGear.com that the new LEAF will arrive with a 373-mile (600 km) WLTP driving range.
Nissan’s new LEAF EV (Source: Nissan)
On the EPA scale, it could be closer to a 300-mile range, but that would still be a significant improvement from the 212 EPA-estimated miles offered on the 2025 LEAF SV Plus.
In North America, the new Nissan LEAF will also feature a built-in NACS port, unlocking access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
You can learn more about the updated model in the video above. The short series features the planning, design, and engineers who helped bring the third-gen EV to life.
We will find out more later this month when Nissan officially launches the updated LEAF. Check back soon for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
Do you like the updated LEAF design? The crossover style gives it a fresh new look. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!
In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.
Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.
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The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
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All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.
Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.
Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:
The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.
The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.
It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.
With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.
Electrek’s Take
This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.
Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.
The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.
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