What's Going on at Nissan? Right Now, a Grind—But There's Hope on the Horizon
A new Leaf, a hybrid Rogue, a sexy Sentra, and EVs all coming to Nissan’s rescue.
Nissan has every intention of finding its way out of the woods and one of the clearest paths to a profitable exit runs through the U.S. market. With a potential lifeline deal with Honda seemingly on ice, a recent CEO swap, and alarm bells ringing, Nissan's in bad shape these days (more on that at the bottom of this piece).
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Nissan needs to generate more revenue and sees the U.S. as a priority, says Guillaume Cartier, Nissan’s chief performance officer. Things are not perfect, and Nissan is not competing in all vehicle segments, or even key ones—it's missing hybrids in the U.S. and EVs in China.
The good news? The U.S. and Canada will see more than 10 new and refreshed products in key segments for both Nissan and Infiniti, with new EVs like the next-generation Nissan Leaf, new EVs from the Canton plant in Mississippi, a Rogue plug-in hybrid, and more. Media from around the world were invited to Nissan’s technical center in Japan for a peek at some of the models in the pipeline and to learn more about Nissan’s future strategy from executives including Ivan Espinosa, the chief planning officer who will take over as CEO on April 1.
All-New 2026 Nissan Leaf EV
A much-anticipated model, the all-new 2026 Nissan Leaf, will be unveiled in June, joining the Ariya in the Nissan stable of EVs. The third-generation Leaf goes from boring hatchback to sexy crossover and moves to a new, advanced EV architecture, with greater performance and range, executives say. We will learn more details in June when the Leaf makes its global debut. For what we have gleaned so far, read here.
2026 Nissan Sentra
Also soon to break cover: a new Sentra. Nissan has not totally abandoned the car market. The Maxima may be done, but a new generation of the Sentra compact sedan is coming later this year. We should see it in late summer, and it will go on sale late this year or early 2026. The 2026 Sentra has similar dimensions to the current car but is more refined with seamless body sides while retaining a bit of muscle car vibe with a dark-trimmed face and larger wheels on the SR trim level.
Nissan Pathfinder
Also coming this year: a refreshed Pathfinder SUV with updated tech and connectivity and more premium touches. We continue to hear that a new Frontier midsize pickup truck is in the works, as well as a Z sports car.
Nissan Rogue Hybrids
One goal is to close the gap on hybrids in the U.S. over the next 24 months. It starts with a Rogue plug-in hybrid this year, using the powertrain used by the otherwise related Mitsubishi Outlander. When the fourth-generation Rogue goes into production in 2026, it will finally bring Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system that uses a gas engine as a generator in a series hybrid where 100 percent of the power to the wheels is electric. The new Rogue is boxier than before with a flush grille with no chrome. The look is more chiseled, especially the rear fender area.
There will be more hybrids to come. Not all models will be electrified, and the type of hybrid will be on a case by case basis, partially dictated by regulations that are still being sorted out in the U.S.
U.S.-Built EVs for Nissan and Infiniti
This one's huge. The automaker has delayed and reprioritized the electric vehicles to be built at the Canton plant in Mississippi. The current plan is for a pair of electric crossovers in 2027, one for Nissan, one for Infiniti.
Initially, the brands were going to start with electric sedans, but the waning popularity of cars and continued popularity of SUVs prompted a reversal of the order of the planned launches. And the delay also resulted in some design pivots. The industry has come to the realization that EVs don’t have to look like futuristic eggs and people are rebelling against the design language of EVs, says Ponz Pandikuthira, chief planning officer in North America. They can be styled to meet customer needs, regardless of powertrain.
The result is two very different takes on a crossover for the two brands.
Nissan’s Outdoorsy Electric SUV
The electric SUV for Nissan is a boxy, adventured-oriented utility vehicle in a bid to stand out more in a crowded field. Nissan thinks the outdoorsy look is in line with a trend in the U.S., appealing to customers even if they have no intention of ever leaving a paved surface.
The unnamed SUV looks like an electric take on a Nissan Xterra with a back end like a Pathfinder and an integrated roof rack. The new EV has a vertical front to complete the squarish profile. Head of design Alfonso Albaisa would have preferred a shorter wheelbase to better get over a hill without seesawing, but the need for batteries dictated a longer wheelbase for range.
Infiniti’s Forthcoming Electric SUV
The unnamed Infiniti electric SUV goes in a completely different direction with a coupish figure. The swoopy crossover has a vertical nose, split lamps, the Infiniti logo on the hood and an integrated spoiler in back. It starts production in Canton in 2027 for sale in 2028.It will be the entry-level EV for Infiniti. The EV family will grow upwards from there.
Espinosa, the incoming CEO, says they have decided on names for the two EVs but they are still a few months from announcing them.
The EVs going into the Canton plant represent a huge investment so they need to be right, says Espinosa. Nissan has spent $500 million to retool the Mississippi plant, on top of the development costs for the new EVs.
The EVs will spawn derivatives, as well, says Ponz Pandikuthira, chief planning officer in North America. The automaker is still figuring out which ones make sense.
Does Infiniti Have a Future?
At one point Lexus was dependent on Toyota for profit and now [the luxury division] is the profit engine, says Pandikuthira. Infiniti has that potential. “So, Infiniti is here to stay.” Proof is the investment in the new QX80 flagship which is also adding a Sport package with 24-inch wheels.
The QX60 was also a step in the right direction but should have been hybridized and the next generation of that car will be, he says. It gets a refresh in 2026 with a larger grille and interior updates. There will be a next-generation QX60. The all-new QX65 two-row midsize crossover coupe is coming next year. Infiniti is already taking about what the next-generation QX80 will look like and what powertrain it will require, including electrification.
Infiniti will not be EV-only and it won’t be SUV-only, Pandikuthira says. The brand is not locked into a particular body style or segment; future models will be tailored to what the brand thinks will appeal to customers of premier vehicles. One thing Infiniti cannot be is warmed over Nissans. They can share platforms and powertrains but not design. They can share dealer real estate and service bays but not showrooms or user experience. There must be differentiation.
Product Strategy
Under the new leadership of Espinosa, Nissan wants a mix of signature brand-oriented models, volume models, and niche models.
The new CEO wants five or six brand-oriented vehicles sold globally that are instantly recognizable as Nissan. Then there are mainstream models that can be more regional, like small cars for Japan and larger SUVs for North America. Then there are niche, technical cars that would seek a partner to share the cost, saving limited engineering resources for the models with larger volumes and profit margin potential.
Nissan won’t keep investing in new combustion engines per se but will invest in them as generators for range-extender hybrids, for example—things on the pathway to electrification.
Cost-Cutting Measures: Cutting 20,000 Jobs and 7 Factories
A month and a half after we first published this story, things look dire at Nissan. The automaker reported a loss for the last fiscal year and announced aggressive cost-cutting measures on May 13.
Under the plan, Nissan is targeting cost reductions of 500 billion yen total, or approximately $3.4 billion, in part by increasing its demands from fewer suppliers—which Nissan already squeezes hard as it is—closing and consolidating seven of its 17 factories in two years' time, and abandoning its planned EV battery plant in Kyushu, Japan.
The number of vehicle platforms offered will drop from 13 to seven by 2035 and parts complexity will be reduced by 70 percent. Though each of those moves sounds like small potatoes, Nissan doesn't have as much parts commonality from vehicle to vehicle as most competitors, which raises costs in the long run—it means designing and validating new parts over and over, instead of leveraging existing, already designed pieces. Same goes for platforms—the fewer platforms an automaker can consolidate its lineup onto, the lower its overall development and parts costs.
Furthermore, the automaker is set to cut 11,000 more jobs between now and 2027, which represents about 15 percent of its global work force. This figure comes after the 9,000 positions that were already eliminated in 2024.
This story was originally published in March 2025 and has since been updated to reflect new business challenges facing Nissan.
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
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