Nissan is aiming to sell 1 million electrified vehicles – either pure electric models or those with e-POWER powertrains – annually by fiscal year 2022.
The target is part of as part of its Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022 midterm plan, under which it plans to launch growing numbers of electrified vehicles, expand and evolve autonomous driving systems, and accelerate vehicle connectivity.
The company also intends to develop eight new pure electric vehicles, building on the success of the new Nissan LEAF; launch an electric car offensive in China under different brands; and introduce an electric “kei” mini-vehicle in Japan.
It further wants to offer a global crossover electric vehicle, inspired by the Nissan IMx Concept; electrify new INFINITI models from fiscal year 2021; equip 20 models in 20 markets with autonomous driving technology; and reach 100% connectivity for all new Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun cars sold in key markets by the end of the plan.
Philippe Klein, Nissan’s chief planning officer, said, “Our product and technology strategy is dedicated to positioning Nissan to lead the automotive, technology and business evolution.
“Our efforts are focused on delivering Nissan Intelligent Mobility, encompassing the three core elements of electrification, autonomous drive, connectivity and new mobility services.”
Klein reaffirmed that the midterm plan aims to boost annualised revenue by 30% to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal year 2022. The company is also targeting an 8% core operating profit margin and cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen.
Klein pledged to leverage the platform and powertrain assets of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to support the company’s goals.
Klein said Nissan will launch a product offensive in China led by a new C-segment electric vehicle this year, derived from Nissan LEAF technology.
The product offensive will also include an affordable EV in China through the Alliance joint venture eGT New Energy Automotive. This new affordable electric vehicle will be jointly developed by the Alliance and Dongfeng on an A-segment SUV platform.
Two further electric vehicle derivatives are also being prepared for the Venucia brand.
Nissan will also continue to expand its e-POWER technology, already offered on the Nissan Note and Nissan Serena in Japan. More than 129,000 Note e-POWER models were sold in Japan in its first year, with more than two-thirds of Note customers opting for e-POWER models versus the baseline model.
Nissan expects that electrified vehicles – including electric vehicles and e-POWER models – will make up 40% of the company’s sales in Japan and Europe by 2022 and 50% by 2025. In the U.S., the expectation is about 20-30% by 2025, while in China it’s 35-40%.
INFINITI will accelerate the electrification trend, with new models being either pure electric vehicles or utilising e-POWER technology from fiscal year 2021. By 2025, INFINITI expects electrified vehicles to comprise 50% of its global sales.
As part of its strategy for autonomous driving systems, Nissan announced plans to deploy ProPILOT technology in 20 models in 20 markets by 2022. The company expects to sell 1 million ProPILOT-equipped vehicles a year by 2022.
This will be followed by enhancing ProPILOT to automate multilane driving on highways and managing vehicle destinations. The enhanced capability will be introduced in Japan as a pilot project within one year.
