After years of managerial turmoil and a failed merger with Honda, Nissan is attempting to right the ship. President Donald Trump's tariffs couldn't have come at a worse time.
The Nissan Leaf was once the number-one selling EV in the world. Unveiled in 2009, it hit the road in 2010, beating Tesla to market as the first mass-produced EV and topping sales charts for a decade. It was a bold move, and one that should have cemented the company as one of the world's premier EV players. So what happened? Some 15 years later, in the United States, the automaker has floundered. It didn't predict the rise of hybrids, and it's still dealing with the PR aftermath of a very public failed merger with Honda. Add in years of mismanagement and an outright neglect of its EV portfolio, and the former king of EV sales has been scrambling to find its footing. A chaotic market reeling from threats of tariffs really isn't helping. Still, Nissan is at least attempting to claw its way back to its former glory. It has a new CEO, upcoming EVs and a hybrid for the US market, and the…