After a break of almost four years, there’s a successor for the Nissan Micra. The small car will only be launched on the market with an electric drive and is set to be the start of a major product offensive by the Japanese manufacturer in Europe.
The Micra has historically been a successful model for Nissan. The Japanese company has sold more than six million Micras worldwide since the first generation of the small car was launched in 1983, across five model generations. However, there has been a gap in the Nissan portfolio in the B-segment since 2022, when production of the fifth generation was discontinued without replacement.
Only electric, Renault technology
From the end of the year, the sixth Micra generation should close this gap again. However, the Japanese company has not opted for a conventional small car, but for a purely electric one: While the fifth generation was still based on the Clio from alliance partner Renault, the new Micra is based on the Renault 5 E-Tech Electric. Its AmpR Small platform is only designed for electric drives.
As the two models share the same platform and are also built together at the Ampere plant in Douai, the technical specifications of the drive system in the new Micra are already known. Nissan Europe has decided to keep the entire range structure of the new Micra as simple and straightforward as possible.
There are only two drive variants for the Micra: the base model gets a 40 kWh battery in combination with a 90 kW electric motor for a 310-kilometer WLTP range, and the top model uses a 52 kWh battery and a 110 kW motor, which should result in 408 kilometers according to WLTP. For its R5, Renault also offers a small battery with a 70 kW drive, and, of course, there is also a more powerful, sporty derivative from its daughter company Alpine, the A290.
Arnaud Charpentier, Vice President Marketing & Mobility for the AMIEO region at Nissan (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, Oceania), did not want to explicitly rule out other drive variants but said it was “too early” to talk about a basic engine or a Micra Nismo in the style of the Alpine A290.
Charpentier only made one thing clear at the première of the Micra: Nissan is not working on an SUV offshoot based on the Renault 4 E-Tech Electric; it will stick with one electric model in the B-segment, the new Micra. Nevertheless, it’s already known that it will also introduce a Nissan version of the upcoming fully electric Renault Twingo, a €20,000 car for the A-segment.
With the technology of the AmpR Small platform, there are no surprises when it comes to the charging options either: with up to 80 kW (small battery) or 100 kW (large battery), the Micra can recharge from 15 to 80% in around 30 minutes. Both variants have battery heating and cooling as well as a heat pump on board.
AC charging takes place via the 11 kW onboard charger, which also supports bidirectional charging. For the time being, however, Nissan is only announcing a vehicle-to-load (V2L) function, which can be used to operate electrical devices with electricity from the traction battery. Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) or Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) are not yet definitely planned.
Modern, not retro
Of course, Nissan also has the obligation to be different enough from the Renault sibling. Nissan wants to achieve it with the design of its newcomer. “This was a double challenge for our designers,” said Charpentier. “On the one hand, we wanted to stay away from the retro-pop charm of the Renault, and on the other, we wanted it to be a modern Nissan that is immediately recognisable as a Micra. It was very important for us to have our own light signature.”
Nissan’s designers were inspired by the third Micra generation, which was sold between 2003 and 2010. This Micra was earmarked by its oval and slightly protruding headlights at the front, which in the new 2025 model are emphasised above all by the LED daytime running lights.
When unlocked, the headlights and daytime running lights play a special ‘Welcome Light’ animation, which, according to Charpentier, should not only be useful for finding the car in a large car park, for example, but should also show the car’s sophisticated light technology to the outside world.
The Micra was designed in Nissan’s European design centre in London and differentiates itself from the angular Renault 5 with its rather rounded shapes. it has a higher and steeper front end, with an almost SUV-like appearance, thanks to the standard 18-inch rims and the pronounced wheel arches.
“In designing the sixth generation of the All-New Micra, we’ve celebrated all of the values that have historically made it so popular, and opened a new chapter for Micra as an EV,” says Giovanny Arroba, Vice President of Nissan Design Europe.
Simple and elegant
While the Micra’s exterior design is somewhat playful, the interior is relatively simple and elegant. A 10.1-inch cockpit display is installed behind the three-spoke steering wheel, with a seven-inch or 10.1-inch touchscreen in the center, depending on the trim level.
The Japanese manufacturer describes the infotainment software as ‘NissanConnect with Google built-in’. The version of Google Maps familiar from other vehicles is used for navigation and the EV route planner, Google Assistant is used for voice control (not only for vehicle functions, but also for questions such as the weather forecast) and the Google Play Store for other apps is also offered in the Micra.
The system is expanded to include the MyNissan app on the customer’s smartphone, which can be used to control the air conditioning, for example, and a ‘Battery Manager’ is also integrated into the app. “For many electric newcomers, finding their way around the charging ecosystem is a major challenge. With the MyNissan app, we provide all the features to make driving and charging an electric car as easy as possible,” explains Arnaud Charpentier.
Compact and agile
With a length of 3.97 meters (4 cm more than the Renault 5), driving and parking in the city should be easy. The width of 1.77 meters should also help. At the same time, the wheelbase of 2.54 meters (exactly the same as the Renault) is relatively long for the vehicle size, which, according to Nissan, should provide three advantages: more space in the interior, a more dynamic road holding, and an optimum mix of agility and stability. The trunk has a capacity of 326 liters and can be extended to 1,106 liters with the rear seat backrests folded down. The loading area is not really flat.
Unlike previous generations, the new Micra will only be available as a five-door model. Charpentier explains that e-power hybrids are not being planned because they’re not possible with the dedicated electric AmpR Small platform. “We want the price to be so attractive that it is interesting for everyone all over Europe,” he said without already naming prices. These will only be communicated later in the year.
