The Nissan Micra will return this year as an electric car twinned with the Renault 5, developed with a focus on the European market.

The fifth generation of the supermini will be one of three new EVs that Nissan will launch in Europe by the end of 2026, along with the new Leaf and an electric Juke.

The first official images of the production version of the Micra show that it retains many of the design cues seen on the motorsport-themed 20-23 concept shown in 2023. 

While the design of the car was led at Nissan’s European design centre in London, the car will be manufactured by Alliance partner Renault in Douai, France, and will share its CMF-BEV platform and technical underpinnings with the 5.

It contains design cues to the K12-generation Micra of 2002, particularly through its round front and rear lights.

Nissan's global design chief, Alfonso Albaisa, said the new Micra was developed alongside the 5 from the start, claiming it represented the closest he has worked with the French firm on a design project.

His London studio had been working on concepts for a small car, and when the deal was agreed with Renault, “it just happened to work out, because we already had studies playing with round headlamps”.

“The beauty was that we were looking at something much cuter, with round, puppy-dog headlights, but the Renault car is a bit of a bulldog," continued Albaisa. 

"So what I love about the Micra is that it has some cute things but the body, shoulders and tyres are huge. The bonnet of the Micra is bigger.

"The Renault has a little more angle, because the original 5 had a bonnet that went down. The previous Micra wan’t that type of wedge car, so the engineers were spectacular, because the front of the car is a minefield to rework, because of all the safety features.”

Nissan has confirmed the Micra will be offered with 40kWh and 52kWh batteries, with the latter giving a claimed maximum range of more than 248 miles.

The Japanese firm hasn't confirmed power outputs, but the standard versions of the 5 currently offer 118bhp and 148bhp. 

François Bailly, Nissan’s European product boss (and soon to take on that role at a global level), said its new EV offers “mobility but also emotion, because Micra is a really strong name in Europe”.

He declined to comment on a target price for the new Micra – the 5 is priced from £22,995 – but told Autocar it will be “our car at the entry point”.

He added: “What’s limiting EV take-up right now is affordability. Transaction price versus household incoming is going in the wrong direction. We need to go back to people being able to afford those cars, and that’s where the Micra comes in.”