Nissan hits pause on electric Leaf and axes two SUVs

Nissan New Zealand’s local line-up is in the midst of a considerable makeover, with multiple nameplates either departing the range or being put on ice.

Speaking to New Zealand media at this week’s launch drive event for the all-new Navara, held in Canberra, Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone confirmed that the brand is set to drop the Pathfinder, Juke, and — for now — the Leaf.

Humberstone, who is set to depart his Oceania role at the end of this month to return to Nissan Europe, told media that the brand is “cleansing” its line-up in Australasia by reducing its number of variants and increasing scale, as it prepares to take on the onslaught of new incoming low-cost rivals from China. 

Nissan recently dropped the Juke from its New Zealand website. Some new examples still remain in dealerships with runout pricing. A healthy amount of Pathfinders remain in stock around the country, but they too are being listed with runout pricing. 

On the US-made Pathfinder, Humberstone said that the lack of a planned hybrid meant the nameplate couldn’t work for our market, despite its popularity.

“Pathfinder is at the end of its life, we told the dealers last week. The Pathfinder is an amazing product as it is, and loved by so many, it’s US based [...] and there’s no future HEV or hybrid version coming,” he said. 

Although the Juke is departing, Nissan will still have representation in the compact crossover and 7-seater SUV space via the Qashqai, three-row X-Trail, and Patrol. Humberstone confirmed that the Qashqai will soon be exclusively offered in New Zealand in e-Power hybrid format, with pure combustion variants to be dropped.

Whilst Nissan’s New Zealand line-up will still offer compact crossovers and 7-seaters, what it will soon no longer offer is an electric car.

CarExpert NZ recently confirmed that the Japanese marque was dropping the Ariya mid-size SUV, with extensive runout campaigns currently in place for the premium-positioned SUV. It was thought that the all-new Leaf, revealed last year, would arrive later this year as planned to ensure the brand would still have a pure electric offering in its fleet.

However, Nissan has poured cold water on the nameplate, with Humberstone saying that the Leaf is on “indefinite hold” for the New Zealand market. 

Humberstone said that the New Zealand electric vehicle market has been challenging following the numerous changes in legislation by back-to-back governments. 

The Labour Government’s launch of the Clean Car Discount was widely credited with increasing interest in pure electric vehicles, particularly in 2023 as local registrations hit an all-time high. Following the election of the current National Government in late 2023, the CCD was dumped and local EV registrations plummeted. 

The likes of the Motor Industry Association have directly linked New Zealand’s decline in EV registrations to National’s decision to drop the CCD. Nissan’s local arm campaigned extensively to bring the Ariya to New Zealand during the era of the CCD, only for confirmation of allocation to come after the CCD had been removed.

“I think governments are all reflecting on what they are going to do [regarding EVs] going forward, but there’s massive implications on consumers that have invested or want to invest — or don’t — and have that clarity of direction. And it’s quite difficult to navigate that,” said Humberstone. 

On the Ariya's struggles in the New Zealand market, Humberstone was direct. “But that was circumstances. That wasn't a manufacturing problem, it wasn't a dealer problem, it was change in legislation,” he said.