The Nissan Leaf's name secretly stands for a whole sales pitch
LEAF looks like a simple nature word, but Nissan made it a backronym: leading, environmentally friendly, affordable family car. Unveiled on 1 August 2009 as the first mass-market zero-emission car, it went on to become the best-selling plug-in electric car in the world until the Tesla Model 3 overtook it in early 2020.
Production started on 22 October 2010 at Oppama in Yokosuka, with later factories in Smyrna, Tennessee and Sunderland in England, where 270,000 were made before British output stopped in March 2024. The first battery used 192 flat laminated lithium-ion cells developed with NEC, laid under the floor between the wheels. Awards arrived quickly, including European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year for 2011.
Critics were split. Car and Driver felt the interior materials belonged in a car costing half as much, while praising the roomy boot and standard heated seats. Others found the range disappointing. That range grew steadily with bigger batteries, from 117 km at launch to 364 km on the EPA test for the 62 kWh e+ version introduced in 2019. The second generation, launched in Japan in October 2017, set a record of 87,149 sales in 2018 and added one-pedal driving, where lifting off the accelerator brakes hard enough to stop the car completely before the hydraulic brakes hold it.
Nissan also played with the idea. In September 2020 it showed the RE-LEAF, a raised, rugged emergency-response prototype that could power a small command post, with weatherproof outlets, a pull-out desk and a monitor in the back. A racing Leaf Nismo RC appeared too. By February 2022 global sales had reached 577,000.
The third generation, unveiled on 17 June 2025, abandoned the hatchback for a crossover shape and offers up to an estimated 490 km of range. Mitsubishi's Eclipse Sportback, revealed in 2026, is built on the same car.
Source: Nissan Leaf
