Nissan unveils an electrified future vision

Joining the trend of world-class automakers reshaping their entire focus on a zero-carbon future, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. has unveiled Nissan Ambition 2030, a vision for delivering exciting electric vehicles and technologies over the coming decade.

"The role of companies to address societal needs is increasingly heightened," said Nissan CEO 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."

This vision aligns with Nissan's goal to be carbon neutral across the life cycle of its products by fiscal year 2050.

"We want to transform Nissan to become a sustainable company that is truly needed by customers and society," said Uchida.

To accomplish this, Nissan plans to invest 2 trillion yen (US$17.8 billion) to accelerate the electrification of its vehicle lineup and rate of technology innovation.

Beyond the fleets of future Nissan EVs, the Japanese automaker envisions the localization of manufacturing and sourcing to make EVs more competitive by expanding its unique EV Hub concept, EV36Zero, which was launched in the United Kingdom to core markets including Japan, China, and the U.S.

EV36Zero is a fully integrated manufacturing and service ecosystem that connects mobility and energy management toward realizing carbon neutrality.

Planning for end-of-life batteries and the eventual completion of circular production, the facility has been designed to ensure vehicle batteries remain sustainable, which has been a long-time priority for Nissan based on its decade of repurposing and recycling expertise with 4R Energy.

The company intends to expand its battery refurbishing facilities beyond Japan with new locations in Europe during fiscal year 2022, and the U.S. by fiscal year 2025. Nissan's refurbishing infrastructure will support a circular economy in energy management, and the company aims to fully commercialize its vehicle-to-everything and home battery systems in the mid-2020s.

Additionally, Nissan plans to invest up to $20 billion Japanese yen (US$177 million) by 2026 towards charging infrastructure.

Of course, Nissan has laid out significant plans towards its lineup of EVs as well, with the company planning 23 new electrified models, including 15 new EVs by 2030, eventually aiming for an electrification mix of more than 50% globally across the Nissan and INFINITI brands.

With 20 new EV and e-POWER equipped models on the docket within the next five years, Nissan intends to increase its electrification sales mix across major markets by 2026, including:

• Europe by more than 75% of sales.

• Japan by more than 55% of sales.

• China by more than 40% of sales.

• And the United States by 40% of EV sales by 2030.

"We are proud of our long track record of innovation, and of our role in delivering the EV revolution. With our new ambition, we continue to take the lead in accelerating the natural shift to EVs by creating customer pull through an attractive proposition by driving excitement, enabling adoption and creating a cleaner world," said Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta.

With a bevy of hybrid and all-electric vehicles adding to the vast selection consumers will see in the coming years, there will be little difficulty finding a choice that works best for future purchasers.

Nissan also hopes to continue evolving its lithium-ion battery technologies, eventually introducing a cobalt-free technology to reduce costs by an estimated 65% by 2028.

To do this, the company aims to launch EVs with its proprietary all-solid-state batteries and ready a pilot plant in Yokohama, Japan, as early as 2024. With solid-state batteries, Nissan says it will be able to expand its EV offerings and reduce charge times to one-third.

With solid-state batteries still being a predominantly infantile technology, these claims most assuredly remain to be seen.

However, it cannot be denied the benefits to reduced consumption and improvements to longevity they would bring, making not just EVs more efficient and accessible but anything requiring mobile energy would see enormous changes with solid-state batteries.

Nissan states it expects its all-solid-state battery technology to bring the cost of battery packs down to US$75 per kilowatt-hour by 2028, with a further goal of US$65 per kWh to achieve cost parity between EV and gasoline vehicles in the future.

Furthermore, the Japanese automaker seeks to establish a global battery supply system to meet growing customer vehicle demand and support the growing number of EVs in use. Working with its partners, Nissan intends to increase its global battery production capacity to 52 gigawatt-hours by fiscal year 2026 and 130 GWh by fiscal year 2030.

Through Nissan Ambition 2030, the company also seeks to extend the benefits of mobility by delivering its advanced driver-assistance and intelligence technologies to more customers. These combined efforts will likewise support Nissan's continued efforts to establish new mobility services and partnerships.

Additional Nissan Ambition 2030 goals include:

• Expansion of ProPILOT technology to over 2.5 million Nissan and INFINITI vehicles by fiscal year 2026. The company will also further develop its autonomous vehicle technologies, aiming to incorporate next-generation lidar systems on virtually every new model by fiscal year 2030.

• To meet the varying transportation needs of different countries, Nissan will collaborate with the most suitable partners to realize new mobility services for more efficient mobility in cities, as well as more sustainable mobility in rural areas.

As Nissan increases its pace of innovation in mobility, it intends to hire more than 3,000 employees in advanced research and development globally while continuing to upskill its current workforce. The company will also build on collaboration across the alliance to enable cost-savings and shared expertise in areas such as carbon-neutral technologies, electrification, software, and services.

Watch the entire roadmap presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oArepEmjEBo&t=2s.