Nissan LEAF is Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year 2026 – wins too for Skoda Elroq, Hyundai Ioniq 9 and more | Cars UK

The new Nissan LEAF is declared Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year 2026, beating the Skoda Elroq, Hyundai Ioniq 9 and more in the process.

Despite Tesla dominating the EV market for the last decade, there’s no disputing the fact that it was the Nissan LEAF which delivered the first mass market EV way back in 2009, with sales of around 700,000 in its lifetime, making it quite a success.

But Nissan didn’t manage to keep the LEAF at the top of the EV tree despite several updates throughout its life, with sales in 2024 of around 19,000 compared to over 60,000 a decade before.

But now, finally, there’s an all-new Nissan LEAF – officially revealed last summer – which morphs into a crossover with decent interior space, 75kWh battery option promising a 375-mile range and powering a 214bhp electric motor, and a smaller 52kWh battery option giving a 174bhp motor.

Inside, the new LEAF comes with twin 14.3″ screens for infotainment and driver info, some actual knobs, and a new UX with Google Maps.

It all adds up to an appealing and practical EV which is streets ahead of its predecessor, all of which has seen the LEAF declared the Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year 2026.

Marta García, Executive President of WWCOTY, said:

In our voting, we have focused on vehicles that stand out not only for their figures or technology, but for how effectively they respond to people’s real, everyday needs.

The Nissan LEAF represents a mature and intelligent vision of electrification — one that makes electric mobility truly usable and accessible.

A good win for Nissan.

• Compact Car: Nissan Leaf
• Compact SUV: Škoda Elroq
• Large Car: Mercedes-Benz CLA
• Large SUV: Hyundai Ioniq 9
• 4×4: Toyota 4Runner
• Performance Car: Lamborghini Temerario