This year’s first-quarter sales figures paint a grim picture for certain Nissan models in both the United States and Canada. South of the border, the LEAF crossover’s situation is particularly troubling. Fortunately for the model, things look considerably better on our side of the line. That said, within our own borders, other models are struggling as the year gets underway.
The LEAF recorded only 668 sales in the first quarter of 2026, down from 2,323 in the first quarter of 2025, a 71.2% decline.
Canadians bought 1,330 LEAFs in the first quarter, twice as many as Americans.
The suspension of Frontier, Murano, and Pathfinder imports due to tariffs is taking a real toll.
LEAF
In the first three months of 2026, Nissan moved 668 units in the United States, compared to 2,323 during the same period in 2025. In Canada, a market roughly ten times smaller, Nissan sold twice as many LEAFs, 1,330 units.
What makes the LEAF’s situation particularly hard to explain is that the crossover has everything going for it on paper, at least as far as American consumers are concerned. It offers excellent value for money, with the base version available at a significantly lower starting price of $29,990 USD, a respectable range, and an overall quality that makes it genuinely appealing.
Yet American buyers have clearly turned their backs on the model. The current context in the United States is obviously not helping, whether it is the disappearance of electric vehicle purchase incentives or the state of an economy where inflation has been running out of control since the current administration took office and began imposing import tariffs.
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In Canada
In Canada, the retaliatory tariffs have led Nissan to temporarily suspend imports of the Frontier, Murano, and Pathfinder. As a result, their sales have fallen off a cliff. For the Frontier, sales dropped from 728 to 6 in the first three months of the year. For the Pathfinder, from 1,239 to 39. And for the Murano, from 1286 to 129.
These models could find their footing again once imports resume, but that remains to be seen.
Rising gas prices, tied to the war being waged by the United States and Israel against Iran, could give the American electric vehicle market a modest lift in the second quarter. The effect could be even more pronounced in Canada.
That said, given current trends, optimism is hard to sustain on either side of the border.
