The battery, the heaviest part of most electric vehicles, is situated below the seats and rear foot space, keeping the center of gravity as low as possible and giving the car better structural rigidity than a conventional five-door hatchback. The body has a sharp V-shape design with large, up slanting headlights that split and redirect airflow away from the door mirrors, and the bottom of the car has aerodynamic panelling.

Nissan sought to make the Leaf appealing to mainstream drivers by giving it a familiar five-door hatchback design. The EV-12 test car was based on the Nissan Tiida/Versa. The Leaf was the world's all-time top selling plug-in electric car until it was surpassed in early 2020 by the Tesla Model 3. As of September 2021, European sales totaled more than 208,000, and as of December 2021, over 165,000 had been sold in the U.S., and 157,000 in Japan. Global sales across both generations totaled 577,000 by February 2022. The Leaf's range on a full charge has been steadily increased from 117 km (73 miles) to 364 km (226 miles) ( EPA rated) by the use of larger battery packs and several minor improvements. A second-generation Leaf was introduced in October 2017. Among other awards and recognition, it received the 2010 Green Car Vision Award, the 2011 European Car of the Year, the 2011 World Car of the Year, and the 2011–2012 Car of the Year Japan. The Leaf was unveiled on 1 August 2009 as the world's first mass market electric and zero-emission vehicle. It has been offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback. The Nissan Leaf ( Japanese: 日産・リーフ, Hepburn: Nissan Rīfu), stylized as LEAF, is a battery-electric powered compact car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010 across two generations.

A second generation Nissan Leaf (2017-present)

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