Nissan has just revealed its new all-electric Juke – which will be built in Sunderland – and you're either going to love it or hate it.

The first electric Juke EV will join the Micra and Leaf as the linchpins of Nissan's new EV lineup on sale in the UK and Europe. At the launch at Nissan HQ in Japan the brand also underlined its commitment to its electrification strategy and manufacturing in the UK. 

The electric Juke will share much of its technology with the Sunderland built Nissan Leaf, but as you can see from our pictures it has a much more distinctive look than its sibling, with more than a hint of a resemblance with the Hyper Punk concept car Nissan revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Mobility Show. 

I’ve been out in Japan speaking to Nissan executives and getting an early look at the car at its official reveal.

What is the electric Nissan Juke?

The Nissan Juke first arrived back in 2010 and really helped kick off this whole crossover SUV trend – combining hatchback dimensions with a bold (some may say ugly) SUV style. And it didn’t just make an impression, it sold in huge numbers. Since its original launch, Juke has built up over 1.5 million customers across Europe, which is pretty remarkable for something this quirky. 

It’s always sat in that slightly unusual space – bigger and more substantial than a small city car, but not quite as practical or roomy as a full family SUV.  Now, for the first time, Nissan is building an all-electric version.

What will the electric Nissan Juke look like?

The Nissan Juke has never exactly been known for its good looks. In fact, it’s been called one of the ugliest cars on the road more than once. And yet... it’s been a massive success becoming Nissan's second bestseller in Europe after the Qashqai, with over 1.5 million examples sold since 2010.

The old Juke always felt to me a bit like the love child of a Nissan Micra and a small SUV after a slightly chaotic night out. It had quite a lot going on at the front, with headlights all over the place and a face that looked a bit like an angry pug. 

And yes, Nissan has done it again with a dramatic design. Regional product boss Clíodhna Lyons told us that the Juke is all about “bold designs” that “challenge convention”, and that the new Juke will “help us reach new customers” within the EV market.  

Those customers definitely won't be the shy and retiring type, with the looks of the new Juke EV bearing a strong resemblance to Nissan's radical Hyper Punk concept car from 2023 (which was inspired by origami) and is described by Nissan as having a "a bold, multifaceted and polygonal surface".

Angles and bold shapes are everywhere and like the previous version - why have one set of headlights when you can two? Given that Nissan doesn’t need to worry about traditional air intakes it's gone even more full on at the front and added an illuminated badge and signature lighting at the front and also at the rear.

What will the electric Nissan Juke look like inside? 

We've not been offered a glimpse of the interior by Nissan yet, but we can imagine how interesting the inside should look if the new exterior is anything to go by. 

The Juke has always looked quite chunky on the outside, but inside it’s never exactly been the most spacious – a bit of a reverse Tardis. It now sits on Nissan’s dedicated EV platform, the same basic architecture used by cars like the Leaf and Ariya. Although Nissan has said it would have a different wheelbase from the Leaf.

That means it’s been designed as an electric car from the ground up, rather than adapted from a petrol model, which should mean improved efficiency, better tech and more space – potentially addressing that slightly cramped feel of previous Jukes.

How much range will the new Juke get?

We don’t have full technical specs yet, but because the Juke shares its underpinnings with the new Leaf, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect. That likely means a choice of battery sizes – similar to the Leaf’s 52kWh and 75kWh packs – with front-wheel-drive electric motors delivering competitive performance.

Range is likely to be slightly lower than the Leaf’s maximum 386 miles, simply because this is a more upright, design-led car, but it should still sit comfortably alongside rivals in this class. Charging should also be in line with Nissan’s latest EVs, the Leaf tops out at 150 kW DC, so expect something similar.

How much will the electric Nissan Juke cost?

What Nissan is very keen to do is keep it affordable. The aim is to price this in line with today’s Juke, which currently sits in the mid to high £20,000 bracket depending on spec. Now, getting a fully electric car anywhere near that level is ambitious, but if Nissan can get close, this could become one of the more accessible electric SUVs on the market. 

It also helps that this is going to be built in Sunderland, which means there’s more than a chance this will qualify for government incentives like the electric car grant. That’s not confirmed yet, but if it does, it could make a meaningful difference to what buyers actually pay. 

What about rivals to the electric Juke?

This sits in a really competitive part of the market. Cars like the Ford Puma Gen-E offer strong practicality and sensible pricing, while something like the Toyota C-HR+ pushes a bit more upmarket with bigger batteries and longer range. 

Then you’ve got cars like the Skoda Epiq and Renault 4, which are slightly smaller but very focused on value and usability. So the Juke has to find a balance somewhere in the middle at a price people can justify.

What tech does the electric Nissan Juke get?

There are also some interesting bits of tech coming through. Like the new Leaf, this electric Juke is expected to support vehicle-to-grid technology, which means in future it could feed energy back into your home or even the grid. It’s a small detail now, but it shows where Nissan sees EVs fitting into a much bigger energy ecosystem. 

Previous Jukes haven’t exactly been about driving excitement – they’ve been more about ease of use and style. But going electric could actually change that with the instant torque, smoother acceleration and quieter driving being a great fit for this kind of crossover. And given there was a hot Nismo version of the original, you do wonder whether we might see a sportier electric version further down the line...

Where will the electric Nissan Juke be built?

The new electric Nissan Juke will be built at Nissan’s factory in Sunderland in the UK. That’s a significant move, because it reinforces the plant’s role at the heart of Nissan’s European EV strategy – it already produces the Leaf, and will also build future electric models for the brand. 

For UK buyers, it could also be good news on the cost front. Building the car locally means there’s a strong chance it could qualify for the UK government's full £3,750 electric car grant – like the Leaf does – although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

The new Juke has been developed across the UK, Spain and Germany, reinforcing Nissan’s commitment to Europe as both a manufacturing centre and innovation hub. Production trials at Sunderland will begin shortly, ahead of full production in early 2027 and sales starting in the spring.