Nissan is slashing production on its new Leaf EV. Here’s why

Nissan Motor has reduced its production plan for the new model of its Leaf electric vehicle by more than half for September-November owing to delays in battery procurement, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.

Lower than expected battery yields at a Nissan affiliate had caused the revision, the Nikkei said, adding that the Japanese automaker planned to release the new EV model by the end of the year.

The newspaper did not specify the original or revised production targets but said that the output plan has been cut by up to several thousand vehicles a month at its Tochigi plant in eastern Japan, where the new version of the Leaf is made for the U.S. and Japanese markets.

Nissan said it did not have any comment on speculative reports, adding that the new model was progressing on schedule towards its planned launch.

The company, which has gone from mass-market EV pioneer to laggard since its first model entered showrooms in 2010, is betting on the new version of its Leaf model to revive its fortunes.

This is not the first time Nissan’s EV production has hit a snag. Another of Nissan’s electric vehicles, the Ariya, was hampered by problems at its high-tech production line at the Tochigi plant in 2023, Reuters reported at the time.

Shares in Nissan closed 0.4% down before the Nikkei report, underperforming a 0.3% gain for the benchmark Nikkei average.

—Daniel Leussink, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Satoshi Sugiyama, Reuters