The Nissan Leaf ushered in the first mass-market electric car, debuting in 2010 with a 107-horsepower electric motor that the EPA estimated would deliver 75 miles of electric-only range. The synchronous electric motor uses a 24 kWh battery pack mounted under the vehicle floor. Fast forward to 2025 and not only has it received a series of updates that have improved its performance, but it’s also more attractive and much better equipped than before.
This is especially true with the arrival of the new third-generation model for 2026. Compared to the first-generation model, the Nissan Leaf EV now gets a much larger 75 kWh lithium-ion battery, resulting in a significant power increase to 214 hp (although the entry-level S trim has a 52 kWh battery with 174 hp). The 2026 Nissan Leaf also gets a range of 300 miles on a full charge, which is a huge improvement over the first-generation Leaf. However, the gap between current and second-generation models, such as the 2020 Nissan Leaf, is smaller. The latter reaches up to 360 kilometers – and its 214 hp corresponds to that of the 2026 version.
But there’s more than just horsepower to think about, and the new model remains a tempting proposition overall. If you currently own a 2020 Nissan Leaf and are considering an upgrade, you may be wondering how much value you have left in your electric car. Unfortunately, according to CarEdge data, this model is one of the worst performing cars in terms of value retention, losing around 66% after five years of normal ownership. If you bought this car new and want to sell it after five years, you will only get back about 34% of the purchase price.
Depreciation value Nissan Leaf 2020
You’re looking at getting around $14,000 back for your 2020 Leaf, assuming you bought it new for around $40,000. Kelly Blue Book provides details on every single trim for the model year, and according to the data, the Leaf’s five-year depreciation is even worse: about 71%. This applies to the base-spec S trim, which had a starting price of $32,550 when new. Now, after five years of use, the car still has a retail value of $9,376, according to KBB.
Owners of the 2020 Nissan Leaf SV are particularly hard hit, with five-year depreciation of about 75%. Considering the starting price of $35,140 when new, the car has only managed to retain $8,884 in value after five years of ownership. It doesn’t get much better than the range-topping 2020 Nissan Leaf SL Plus, which was priced at $44,850. After five years, it will lose 74% of what it was worth, given its current retail value of $11,867. All this indicates that the car is not able to find much demand in the market.
While there was very little wrong with the second-generation Nissan Leaf, there were concerns, especially among people in warmer climates, about the passive air-cooled high-voltage battery. Because the system uses natural airflow to regulate temperature rather than using coolant, some worried that there could be a risk of significant battery wear somewhere down the line. Range anxiety was also a major problem for some. These aspects, along with slower charging, made some potential customers a little hesitant to buy the second-generation Leaf amid the sea of long-range electric cars available to them. While unfortunate, it’s not hard to see why the Nissan Leaf couldn’t hold its value.
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