Earlier this week in Yokohama, Japan, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled its new long-term vision meant to respond to critical environmental, societal, and customer needs. It aims to become a “truly sustainable company, driving towards a cleaner, safer, and more inclusive world.” Over the next ten years, Nissan aims to deliver exciting, electrified vehicles and technological innovations while expanding its operations globally—supporting its goal to be carbon-neutral across the life cycle of its products by fiscal year (FY, from April to March) 2050.

“With Nissan Ambition 2030, we will drive the new age of electrification, advance technologies to reduce carbon footprint, and pursue new business opportunities,” said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. “We want to transform Nissan to become a sustainable company that is truly needed by customers and society.”

Like few noteworthy legacy automakers, Nissan has been a pioneer of electric vehicles (EVs), most notably with the 2010 Leaf. By placing electrification at the core of the company’s long-term strategy, the company aims to jump-start the electric vehicle lineup and rate of technology innovation with investments of ¥2 trillion over the next five years.

The company will introduce 23 new electrified models, including 15 new EVs, by FY2030, aiming for an electrification mix of more than 50% globally across the Nissan and Infiniti brands. With the introduction of 20 new EV and e-Power (hybrid) equipped models in the next 5 years, it intends to increase its electrification sales mix by FY2026 in Europe by more than 75% of sales, Japan by more than 55% of sales, China by more than 40% of sales—and in the U.S. by 40% of EV sales in FY2030.

“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. “By fully leveraging our [Renault Nissan Mitsubishi] Alliance assets, we are working on cobalt-free batteries and aim to bring down the cost of our liquid lithium-ion batteries by more than 65% by 2028 in comparison to the second-generation Leaf.”

That same year, Nissan aims to launch an EV with its proprietary all-solid-state battery (ASSB) technology, for which a pilot plant will be readied in Yokohama as early as FY2024. The ASSB introduction will enable the company to expand its EV offerings across segments by reducing charging time to one-third and bringing the cost of battery packs down to $75 per kW·h by FY2028. Sometime beyond that date, it aims to bring it down further to $65 per kW·h to achieve cost parity with gasoline vehicles. Nissan will establish a global battery supply system to support the growing number of EVs, working with partners to increase its global battery production capacity to 52 GW·h by FY2026 and 130 GW·h by FY2030.

 

New platform and vehicle concepts

In conjunction with the new vision, the company showed a near-term concept vehicle and the designs of three more forward-looking concept cars based on a new skateboard platform technology.

The Chill-Out is the near-future EV. Based on the current CMF-EV platform, it focuses on a sleek and modern design, advanced safety technology, and a productive and comfortable interior space.

“As announced in Sunderland [UK] this July, this crossover utilizes the class-leading CMF-EV platform designed by the Alliance and is the basis for the Ariya,” said Gupta. “This new generation EV represents the shape of things to come. Sleek design, energizing driving, advanced safety technologies, and a productive and comfortable interior space.”

Beyond the CMF-EV, the new Nissan EV Technology Vision platform looks at the direction of future EVs and how advancements in battery technology, hardware, and packaging can offer customers a variety of mobility solutions to match their needs and lifestyles. At the core of the “future-forward” concept cars—the Max-Out, Surf-Out, and Hang-Out, it integrates the ASSB all-solid-state battery technology with optimized components into a skateboard structure that allows for a variety of vehicle types. General principals include front and rear motors, very low center of gravity, ultra-lightweight, and optimal mass distribution—integrated with advanced e-4ORCE and advanced ProPILOT AI (artificial) concepts for precise and agile vehicle control.

“To further enhance excitement, e-4ORCE, our next-generation all-wheel-drive system, combines four-wheel drive, chassis control, and electrification technologies developed and refined over decades, to offer impressive control, stability, predictability and driving excitement,” said Gupta. “You can experience this in the all-new Ariya crossover EV.”

The Max-Out convertible concept aims to deliver a new driving experience of “superlative stability and comfort” with standout features being ultra-lightweight, a very low center of gravity, and advanced e-4ORCE. Dynamic cornering and steering response are balanced with limited body roll. The two-seater features the unique ability to morph its seating, flattening into the floor to offer more interior space when desired, making it ideal for drivers with and without passengers.

The Surf-Out pickup concept aims to provide a smooth ride regardless of the terrain, enabling customers to go anywhere in comfort and with confidence. It features a variety of power outputs and a low and flat cargo space, with off-road performance, electric power utilization from the vehicle, extended cargo space, and advanced e-4ORCE.

The Hang-Out concept tackles the changing perception of the mobile living space. With a completely flat floor that extends from front to back, the concept is aimed at providing a new way of spending time on the move with standout features being a quiet and comfortable cabin, advanced e-4ORCE, and advanced ProPILOT. It is designed to suppress vibrations and jolts, reducing instances of motion sickness and interference while working on the go. Its spaciousness and quietness are designed to offer the comfort of a living room in a mobile space, while theater-like seating enables on-the-go movie nights with family and friends.

 

Preparing for the future

In parallel with the product innovations, Nissan is focused on preparing its factories to be future-ready with a minimal carbon footprint.

“We will expand future zero-emission production to major plants around the world through the Nissan Intelligent Factory and alternative-energy fuel-cell generators,” said Uchida. “With this, we aim for a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions from our plants by 2030 compared to 2019.”

To make EVs more competitive, the company will localize manufacturing and sourcing by expanding its EV Hub concept called EV36Zero, which was launched in the UK, to core markets including Japan, China, and the U.S. The integrated manufacturing and service ecosystem connects mobility and energy management with the aim of realizing carbon neutrality.

In addition to advancing battery technology and making the production process carbon neutral, the company is also working to build a comprehensive EV ecosystem focused on maximizing the value of EVs by expanding their roles as energy devices.

“We are promoting V2X initiatives to improve energy management by optimizing the use of EV batteries connected to the grid and expanding the range of their use,” said Uchida. “Along with it we are working on battery circular loop to refabricate, recycle, resell, and reuse of batteries.

Ensuring vehicle batteries remain sustainable will also continue to be a priority for Nissan based on its decade of repurposing and recycling expertise with 4R Energy, the joint venture between Nissan and Sumitomo to develop end-of-life solutions for EV batteries. The company intends to expand its battery refurbishing facilities beyond Japan with new locations in Europe during FY2022, and in the U.S. in FY2025.

In preparing for the future of electrification, Uchida emphasized to investors that Nissan would pursue profitable growth.

“While we will make significant investments to transition towards a fully electrified world, we will uphold the profitability of the company above 5% to ensure our business remains viable for the long-term,” he said. “This will enable Nissan to sustain growth through the new age of electrification and pursue new business opportunities to help drive long-term profitability.”