Japan’s Nissan announced new plans for its electric vehicles transition as the global car market faces unexpected uncertainty.
Japanese automaker Nissan unveiled its production plan for the short-medium term, with provisions for its EV transition. Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida announced the two-part plan dubbed “The Arc” on Monday.
“The Arc” will focus mostly on transitioning away from combustion engine cars to hybrid and electric vehicles. Uchida said 60% of Nissan’s new vehicles will be “electrified” by 2030. He also announced a 30% cost cut in EV production by the same deadline, reaching parity with combustion engine production costs.
Nissan will also release 30 new models by 2026, 16 of which will be electrified. Uchida did not specify how many will be fully electric and how many will be hybrid models.
“This plan will enable us to go further and faster in driving value and competitiveness,” Uchida said at the press conference. He also added the company aims at a 6% margin by fiscal year 2026.
The second part of “The Arc” involves strategic partnerships and tailored regional release plans. Nissan already closed a partnership with Honda, Japan’s third-largest carmaker, to coordinate efforts for EV production. Nissan already has a similar partnership in place with the French Renault.
7 of the 16 electrified models will be released in North America, Nissan said, directly challenging local giants like Tesla, Ford, and General Motors.
Increased volatility
Uchida said at the press conference that Nissan will carefully evaluate the shifting EV global market. “Faced with extreme market volatility,” he said, “Nissan is taking decisive actions guided by the new plan to ensure sustainable growth and profitability.”
The release of EV models globally will inevitably collide with China’s competition. Last year, China became the world’s largest producer of electric vehicles, overcoming Japan and Germany.
This alarmed European, Japanese, and American carmakers, who worried China’s overproduction would dislodge their competitive advantage.
But regular consumers are seemingly unaffected by this development. Global demand for electric vehicles is growing slower than expected, with reports showing hybrid models are still preferred worldwide.
Tesla, whose top spot as the world’s largest EV company has been replaced by the Chinese BYD, engaged in a price war to bring demand back up. However, it seemingly did not work as expected, forcing Tesla and other EV carmakers to delay production plans.
Nissan was one of the first global players in the EV industry with its 2010 Leaf model. Uchida said the company did not expect such a fast escalation but did not want to rush the EV transition.
Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, has yet to fully commit to the EV transition, announcing new hybrid models for the upcoming years.
