Nissan promises £13.2bn of investment in EV revolution this decade

Image: Nissan LEAF

Announced today (29 November), the Nissan Ambition 2030 plans are headlined by a commitment for the brand to launch 23 new electric vehicle models by the end of the 2030 fiscal year. 15 of these models will be pure EVs and the remaining eight will be hybrid.

There is also an updated ambition for half of Nissan’s global vehicle sales to be accounted for by EVs by the end of the decade.

Nissan had previously set targets for 60% of sales to be accounted for by EVs in Japan, 23% in China and 50% in Europe by this point. There were no sales targets for the US under the previous approach and, moreover, the UK and EU had not legislated to end new petrol and diesel car sales.

Now, the firm is aiming for EV proportions of 75% in Japan, 40% in China, 75% in Europe and 40% in the US.

Nissan is aiming to bring down its EV battery costs by 65% under the plans, by 2028. It will introduce Cobalt-free, more efficient, lithium-ion technologies. These all-solid-state batteries will be piloted in Yokohama, Japan, from 2024 and then launched to the market by 2028.

As well as vehicles themselves, there will be an accelerated investment in charging infrastructure (accounting for 10% of the two trillion yen), home energy management systems and the circular economy. To this latter point, Nissan will launch battery refurbishment services in Europe in 2022 and the US in 2025, replicating the offer it already provides in Japan.

On home energy management, the strategy confirms Nissan’s intention to “fully commercialise” its “vehicle-to-everything” systems in the mid-2020s. Earlier this year, Nissan partnered with EDF Energy’s subsidiary DREEV to launch a commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging offer for businesses.

“The role of companies in addressing societal needs is increasingly heightened,” said Nissan’s chief executive Makoto Uchida. “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.”

The strategy stops short of committing Nissan to full electrification of its portfolio – a move that has been announced by competitors including Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, GM and Mercedes Benz.

Earlier this year, Nissan confirmed plans to transform its flagship Sunderland manufacturing facility into a £1bn EV hub that will feature a 9GWh battery production Gigafactory.

The UK Government is notably aiming to bring seven Gigafactories online by 2027, to support a ban on new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030.

Sarah George

Comments (1)

  1. Richard Phillips says:

    From where will all this power originate ????????
    Among all the literature associated with this brave new electric world, I never seem to see plans for new generating plant.
    Will this be fossil fuel or nuclear? Who will be the constructers and owners?
    These are extremely pertinent questions.
    Will the cost of the power produced compete with "renewables", or will there be there be subsidies for this latter?
    On the battery side, will there be a obligatory recycling scheme, lithium is not very common element, nor is cobalt for that matter?
    Richard Phillips

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