Nissan's $18 Billion EV Strategy to Introduce 23 Electrified Vehicles

Nissan recently introduced its second electric vehicle (EV), the Ariya, but it is not stopping there. The Japanese automotive giant unveiled a new $17.7 billion plan called Nissan Ambition 2030, which will see the automaker introduce 23 electrified models by 2030, including 15 fully electric vehicles. Nissan also has an even bigger goal to achieve carbon-neutral status by 2050.

Although Nissan is planning 23 new electrified models by 2030, over the next five years the automaker will introduce 20 new EV and e-Power equipped models.

In addition to the lineup of new EVs, Nissan is also using part of the investment to develop new solid-state batteries, which Nissan says will be ready for production by 2028. Nissan expects the new solid-state batteries to bring the cost of a battery pack down to $75 per kWh by 2028, which will then eventually be reduced to $65 per kilowatt-hour. Nissan is also working on evolving its lithium-ion batteries and introducing cobalt-free technology to bring the cost of its lithium-ion batteries down by 65% by 2028.

To prepare for the new EVs, Nissan plans to increase its global battery production capacity to 52 gigawatt-hours by 2026 and 130 gigawatt-hours by 2030. More batteries are not necessarily good for the environment. To combat this, Nissan plans to ensure the batteries remain sustainable by increasing its battery refurbishing facilities beyond Japan with new locations in Europe in 2022 and in the U.S. in 2025. Lastly, Nissan also plans to invest heavily in charging infrastructure and new EV36Zero production facilities.

Thanks to the new electrified models, Nissan has a goal of EVs and hybrid models accounting for 50% of its global sales by 2030, which also includes Infiniti. For the U.S., Nissan is targeting 40% of its sales to be electrified vehicles by 2030 while Europe has a larger 75% goal.

“The role of companies to address societal needs is increasingly heightened. With Nissan Ambition 2030, we will drive the new age of electrification, advance technologies to reduce carbon footprint and pursue new business opportunities," stated Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. “We want to transform Nissan to become a sustainable company that is truly needed by customers and society.” 

Nissan has not announced what the 23 new electrified vehicles will be, but it has unveiled four EV concepts, which could preview some of them. Nissan says the concepts “offer enhanced experiences through sophisticated technology packaging.” The Chill-Out concept is a new crossover EV, which looks smaller than the new Ariya. It’s based on Nissan’s CMF-EV platform and is powered by dual electric motors. It’s expected that the Chill-Out concept is a preview of the next-generation Leaf, since the new Leaf will switch to a crossover.

The Hang-Out concept is a compact, boxy hatchback, which Nissan says will "provide a new way of spending time on the move" with its reconfigurable living room-like interior. The Surf-Out concept is a regular cab pickup with two electric motors to give it off-road capability. Lastly, the Max-Out convertible concept is an “ultra-lightweight,” dual motor convertible sports car.

“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.