The struggle is real for Nissan. The Japanese brand didn't have a good year in 2024, and with tariffs wreaking all kinds of havoc on the industry, 2025 will have its own set of challenges. Now, it sounds like plans for two new US-made Nissan electric sedans have been canceled.
The news leaked out through a memo to suppliers on April 21, according to Automotive News. A Nissan spokesperson reportedly confirmed the decision, citing "recent changes in industry market conditions." Nissan didn't immediately respond to our request for comment.
Gallery: Infiniti Vision Qe Concept
In this case, "industry market conditions" may not be entirely related to tariffs. As noted by our colleagues at InsideEVs, Nissan has waffled on the project for some time. In January 2024, the planned market launch for 2025 was pushed back a year.
The first sedan, known only by its Nissan codename LZ1F, was expected to launch first by the end of 2026. The second model, a derivative for Infiniti codenamed LZ1E, was to follow in 2027. This delay came before all the tariff confusion, suggesting Nissan had doubts about the project for a long time.
In fact, Nissan's outlook regarding tariffs is surprisingly upbeat. Speaking to Motor1 at the 2025 New York Auto Show, Nissan USA's sales and marketing boss Vinay Shahani thinks the company is in a good position to mobilize efforts at its US-based plants.
"We're very fortunate to have a robust industrial footprint in the United States, at Smyrna [Tennessee]... and in Canton, Mississippi, and I think the opportunity to really push and really leverage some of these models that we build in the United States," he said.
With sedans now off the books, it frees up resources at the financially strapped company to work on vehicles that could have greater appeal to US buyers. To that end, Automotive News reports a new as-yet-unknown electric crossover will step up, but it won't enter production until 2028.
Source: Automotive News
