The current Qashqai e-Power is Nissan's first model to feature its more efficient third-generation EV-like hybrid system ahead of the next-gen X-Trail due in the coming years.
The 2026 Nissan Qashqai e-Power has debuted as the brand's first model to include its upgraded, third-generation hybrid system, with Australian arrivals due next year.
On sale in Europe from September, with Australia confirmed to follow between April 2026 and March 2027, the updated Qashqai e-Power cuts WLTP combined fuel consumption from 5.2L/100km to 4.5L/100km, and CO2 emissions from 116g/km to 102g/km.
Compared to the second-generation e-Power system, the latest version includes a five-in-one modular powertrain unit integrating the electric motor, generator, inverter, reducer and increaser, allowing for a smaller and lighter package.
Nissan claims the five-in-one unit brings reduced noise and vibration, and an 11kW power increase to 151kW, with a further 10kW is available in the Sport drive mode.
Yet, it is said to be cheaper to manufacture with petrol price parity forecast by Nissan as early as 2027.
Its lithium-ion battery capacity remains unchanged at 2.1kWh, while it offers a "potential" WLTP driving range of 1200 kilometres.
While it remains paired to a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine – which acts as an electric generator and does not send power to the wheels, unlike other hybrid vehicles – Nissan says it is an "all-new" unit compared to the existing model.
Thermal efficiency for the new 1.5-litre has increased to 42 per cent with stabilised in-cylinder combustion to allow the engine to operate more quietly and efficiently at lower speeds, while a larger turbocharger allows for a 200rpm reduction in engine speeds during highway driving.
A variable compression ratio "has been rendered redundant by the other changes to the engine" while it now requires 0W16 lubricating oil to reduce friction instead of 0W20, and service intervals have increased from 15,000km to 20,000km in Europe.
European deliveries of the 2026 Nissan Qashqai e-Power are due to commence in September 2025 with a rollout "across Africa and Oceania" scheduled to follow "in the months" afterwards.
Nissan has previously confirmed the updated Qashqai e-Power is due in Australia in the 2026 Japanese financial year, indicating an arrival between April 2026 and March 2027.
In 2026, Nissan Australia will also launch the next-generation Patrol Y63 towards the end of the year with a V8-replacing twin-turbo petrol V6, the next-generation Navara ute based on the Mitsubishi Triton, and an all-new Leaf electric car.
A successor to the current Nissan X-Trail will debut in the United States – where it is sold as the Rogue – with the third-generation e-Power hybrid system, but it is unlikely to arrive in Australia before 2027.
Nissan's e-Power hybrid system debuted in the Note hatchback in Japan in 2016, followed by the reveal of its second-generation system four years later, which is currently offered in Australia in the Qashqai and X-Trail.
The current 2025 Nissan Qashqai e-Power starts from $52,365 before on-road costs for the Ti-L, $4200 more than its $48,165 Ti-L turbo-petrol equivalent.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
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