Nissan details ambitious transformation plan, which focuses on sustainability and connectivity.
Nissan will launch 23 new electrified models, including 15 pure-EVs, by 2030.
The marque’s new long-term product plan, presented under the ‘Nissan Ambition 2030’ banner, is centred around its sustainability objectives, and aims to “empower society to build a smart ecosystem with integrated mobility”.
By 2030, Nissan is aiming for electrified vehicles to account for 50 per cent of its global sales, and by 2050 plans to be carbon neutral “across the life cycle of its products”.
More specifically, Nissan plans to increase its electrified vehicle sales by 40 per cent in the US and China, 55 per cent in its Japanese home market and 75 per cent in Europe by 2026.
The manufacturer has committed to investing two trillion yen ($24.6bn) in electrification and new vehicle technology over the next five years, during which time it will usher in 20 new EV and electrified models.
But, significantly, it has also pledged to usher in cobalt-free EV batteries by 2028, which it says will reduce costs by 65 per cent, and plans to have EVs equipped with solid state batteries on sale by 2028.
That would make Nissan one of the first mainstream manufacturers to commercialise solid state batteries; Ford and BMW have each hinted at plans to introduce the technology towards the end of the decade, but have yet to set a deadline.
Nissan will open a pilot plant for solid-state batteries in Yokohama in 2024, and says the technology will allow it “to expand its EV offerings across segments and offer more dynamic performance. Charging times will be slashed by 66 per cent, it estimates, and reduce battery costs, first to $75 ($105) per kWh and later to $65 ($91) – which, it says, will “achieve cost parity between EV and gasoline vehicles in the future”.
In the meantime, Nissan will ramp up its global battery production capacity to 52GWh by 2026 and 130GWh by 2030. The firm’s Sunderland, UK factory will play a significant role in this strategy; battery production partner Envision, which produces the components on site, recently revealed plans to boost capacity from 1.7GWh to 11GWh from 2024.
It will also seek to localise manufacturing and sourcing to make EVs more competitive and accelerate its path to carbon neutrality. It has already launched its ‘EV36Zero’ strategy in the UK, and will expand it to facilities in the US, Japan and China.
At the other end of the vehicle lifecycle, Nissan remains committed to the recyclability of EV batteries. It will open new battery repurposing facilities in Europe in 2022 and in the US in 2025, which it says will “support a circular economy in energy management”.
It’s also plotting significant advances in other areas of vehicle technology. In a push to enhance its vehicles’ autonomous credentials, it will roll out its ProPilot driver assistant software to 2.5 million Nissan and Infiniti vehicles by 2026, before ushering in next-generation lidar systems on “virtually every new model” by 2030.
As it detailed its transformation strategy, Nissan showed off three new concept cars that offer “enhanced experiences through sophisticated technology packing”.
The brand said these cars demonstrate what will be possible with its next-generation cars as a result of its various technological and manufacturing pledges.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said: “The role of companies to address societal needs is increasingly heightened. With Nissan Ambition 2030, we will drive the new age of electrification, advance technologies to reduce carbon footprint and pursue new business opportunities.
“We want to transform Nissan to become a sustainable company that is truly needed by customers and society.”
Felix Page