The electric Nissan Qashqai has been canceled. The Juke EV remains in development. Nissan previously converted part of its factory for Chery’s use.

In 2023, Nissan told British government officials that it was working on several electric vehicles. These included the Nissan Juke EV and Nissan Qashqai EV, which were supposed to roll off the production line at the Sunderland plant (United Kingdom). The electric Nissan Juke is still in development, but work on the electric Qashqai was halted at the beginning of last year, according to Reuters. The company is trying to save its British plant by assembling models from the Chinese firm Chery there.

The Nissan Qashqai is currently only available in a gasoline version

The slow pace of development for the electric version of one of the most popular models sounds like a dark joke given Nissan’s innovation when it first started working on the first Leaf version nearly two decades ago. It might even be a decent idea from a cost-saving perspective. After all, why bother customers who have come to the dealership as usual for a gasoline-powered Qashqai? Is it worth giving up the money they intend to spend on oil changes and other warranty repairs? Especially now when cash is tight?

Nissan Hyper Urban is a rendering meant to preview the Nissan Qashqai EV (c) Nissan

The electric Nissan Qashqai EV won’t leave the Sunderland plant for now, and even if development resumes, it won’t hit the market before the start of next decade, according to Reuters. The issue appears to be “significant volatility” in demand for electric vehicles in Europe and the manufacturer’s desire to “balance” its electrification strategy. On the other hand, the factory is already producing the new Nissan Leaf and will soon begin manufacturing the Nissan Juke EV as well. Judging by Volkswagen’s decisions, it’s easy to conclude that ultimately Nissan could take the Leaf’s chassis, wrap it in a Qashqai bodyshell — and the electric vehicle would be ready.

Nissan Chill-out, another render of the Nissan…

…and its production version, the new Nissan Leaf (c) Nissan

It’s worth noting that just a few weeks ago, it was revealed that the savings related to Nissan’s British plant could be significant. The company disclosed that it is testing its manufacturing capabilities for producing cars for China’s Chery. If these experiments are successful, Nissan could start manufacturing Chery vehicles as early as 2027. These cars wouldn’t be produced in the European Union, so they wouldn’t be subject to some tariffs. Nevertheless, manufacturing outside mainland China would certainly facilitate the Chinese company’s sales in Europe.

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