UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may have wound up every automotive CEO in the land when he delayed the proposed ban of new petrol and diesel sales by 2030, but Nissan is pressing ahead anyway.
Speaking at the launch of its madcap, Micra-busting Concept 20-23 this week, Nissan’s president and CEO, Makoto Uchida, said: "There is no turning back now." Nissan will continue to make the switch to full electric by 2030 in Europe .
"We believe it is the right thing to do for our business, our customers and for the planet," he continued.
This means that every new Nissan model released between now and the 2030 deadline will be pure electric - not mild or self-charging hybrids, as we’ve seen in models like the Qashqai e-Power.
Translated into real numbers, Nissan says it will introduce 27 electrified vehicles, including 19 EVs, by 2030. It has already confirmed an electric car to replace the Micra (whether it will look like the Concept 20-23 is up for debate), while a second model has been slated for production at its UK plant in Sunderland.
In this period, Nissan is also introducing cobalt-free technology to bring down the cost of EV batteries by 65 per cent by 2028.
In that same year, it says it will launch a range of EVs that feature its proprietary all-solid-state batteries (ASSB), offering greater range and performance, while drastically reducing the current charging times.
According to Nissan, EVs represent 16 per cent of its total sales in Europe, part of a total electrified sales mix of 50 per cent, which in the coming three years is expected to rise to 98 per cent.
That said, rival car brands have also committed to the original 2030 date, with both Ford and Volvo stating intent to only sell electric cars by this point, as everyone rushes to catch up with Tesla and emerging EV makers from China.
