Posted on Nov 29, 2021, 6:49 AM
After have rebalanced their accounts and regained some profitability , Nissan announced on Monday that it would deploy a vast investment plan to accelerate the electrification of its vehicles. “Now that Nissan is out of the crisis, the time has come to change gears,” repeated Makoto Uchida, the CEO of the Japanese manufacturer, before indicating that his company was going to release 2,000 billion yen (15.5 billion d ‘euros) over the next five years to launch new electrified models, finance the development of a solid-state battery and secure the production of conventional lithium ion batteries.
Between Western groups, such as Volkswagen, which are betting on a rapid extinction of the combustion engine, and Asian groups, such as Toyota, which are reluctant to rely heavily on electrics, Nissan proposes to choose the balance.
The choice of pragmatism
The group estimates that half of its sales will be made up, by 2030, of vehicles still running on gasoline engines and that the other will be electrified. This range should then include 23 new vehicles running either 100% with batteries like its current Leaf and Ariya, or on hybrid engines equipped with “e-Power” technology. “We have decided to make a pragmatic choice which will take into account national legislation and the appetite of consumers on the various markets”, summarizes a framework from the manufacturer.
Nissan estimates that in the United States, 40% of its sales will be 100% electric by the end of the decade. In Europe, where governments are putting the toughest standards against gasoline vehicles, electrified models could reach 75%. In Japan, where the government is still hesitating about its strategy, sales of electrified models should only represent 55% of the manufacturer’s turnover.
A solid state battery factory
To accelerate the conversion of its customers to electric, Nissan is counting on the rapid launch of batteries that are less expensive and capable of generating more energy. “We will first move to models without cobalt and then to solid state batteries, especially for the heaviest vehicles,” detailed Ashwani Gupta, the manufacturer’s number two.
On the strength of its experience with the batteries for the Leaf, launched eleven years ago, Nissan engineers believe they will be in a position to initiate, as early as 2022, the construction in Japan of a pilot plant for the production of state-owned batteries. solid. The site, which should be inaugurated in 2024, will switch to mass production in 2028. “We hope to come up with a product where the kWh of energy will come back to 65 dollars, which would place it at a cost level similar to that of the combustion engines, ”explained Kunio Nakaguro, one of Nissan’s research directors.
Makoto Uchida has promised to give more details about this new battery development plan next January. Date on which Nissan will reunite with Renault and Mitsubishi to present to the public the long-term ambitions of the Alliance as a whole and the relaunch of joint projects which will have to close the long sequence devoted to the group’s recovery and to the closing of the Carlos Ghosn era .