The Nissan Micra is back — and this time it's electric only

Last updated 20 July 2026 · Published 11 July 2026 · By Elaine, Motor Trade Editor

The little Micra that taught half of Britain to drive has come back from the dead, and it has swapped its petrol engine for a battery. No, really.

Nissan has confirmed the reborn Micra is now a fully electric supermini, and to make the point stick it recently handed the keys of its 100,000th UK electric car to a customer. That is a proper milestone for a brand that quietly kicked off the mainstream EV era with the Leaf 15 years ago. Full circle, basically.

So what actually is it?

Underneath, the new Micra shares its bones with the very likeable Renault 5, which is no bad starting point. You get a choice of two batteries: a 40kWh unit good for up to around 196 miles on the official WLTP test, or a 52kWh version stretching to roughly 257 miles. Power runs from 121bhp to 148bhp depending on spec, and the bigger-battery car will crack 0-62mph in about eight seconds. Not hot-hatch quick, but plenty for darting about town.

Rapid charging tops out at 100kW on the larger battery, which means a 15-80% top-up in about half an hour — long enough for a coffee, short enough that you won’t finish it. A heat pump is standard across the range too, which is the sort of unglamorous detail that genuinely helps winter range.

Is it cheap?

Cheap-ish. Prices start at around £21,500 once the Government’s Electric Car Grant is applied, and the 52kWh version qualifies for the full £3,750 band-one discount, so it can undercut the smaller-battery car on paper. That is the kind of pricing quirk that rewards reading the small print before you sign anything.

It is worth knowing that supermini running costs have never really been about the sticker price. Home-charged, an EV Micra should sip electricity at a few pence per mile — our guide to the cost per mile of running an electric car puts that in context against a petrol equivalent.

The used-car angle (because there will be one)

Here is the thing about brand-new small EVs: give it three years and the used forecourts fill up with them, usually at a proper discount. The current used electric car market is already throwing up serious bargains, and the Micra will join that party soon enough.

When it does, the golden rule applies. With any used EV the battery is the engine and the gearbox rolled into one, so its state of health matters more than the mileage. Get a report on the car before you commit — a full vehicle history check will flag write-offs, outstanding finance and clocking, and you can dig into the MOT history to spot a car that has been neglected.

If you fancy a used Nissan EV right now rather than waiting, the Nissan Leaf is the obvious starting point. And if range anxiety is the sticking point, our rundown of which electric cars go furthest on a charge is worth five minutes.

The verdict

The Micra going electric-only feels like a small car finally growing up. It is smart, it is well priced with the grant, and it drives like something you would actually choose rather than settle for. Just remember that today’s shiny launch is tomorrow’s used bargain — and when that day comes, and the tax rules have shifted again, the battery health check is the bit you cannot skip.