Nissan to cut EV costs by 30pc in new strategy

Japanese OEM Nissan has unveiled a new business strategy which aims to make more profitable and accessible EVs whilst also maintaining an ICE vehicle portfolio.

Nissan’s 'Next' business strategy ended in 2023 and the 'Arc' plan will act as a bridge to 2030, when it will launch 'Nissan Ambition 2030', the company’s long-term vision.

The plan will see 30 new models to be launched by fiscal year 2026, of which 16 will be electrified, generating additional sales of 1mn units by that date compared to 2023.

Another 18 electrified models will be launched between 2026 and 2030 to cover all segments. By 2030 60pc of the vehicles the firm sells will be EVs, including PHEVs.

“Faced with extreme market volatility, Nissan is taking decisive actions guided by the new plan to ensure sustainable growth and profitability,” says Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida.

Nissan will develop its next generation of EVs in ‘families’ — basing a number of vehicle models on an initial vehicle architecture.

This can reduce the cost of subsequent vehicles based on the main vehicle in the family by 50pc, the firm says.

The firm is aiming to undertake a number of other actions to reduce the cost of its next generation EVs by 30pc by 2030, with the goal of achieving cost parity with ICE vehicles by that date.

These include: modular manufacturing, developing more efficient nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries, reducing powertrain sizes, and sourcing components jointly with other firms.

Nissan recently formed a partnership with Japanese rival Honda to evaluate how it can share technology and component sourcing.

Growing partnerships with other firms will form a key part of the Arc strategy out to 2030 as it looks to group sourcing of components for regional manufacturing, and share infrastructure and costs where it can.

This strategy could include some vertical integration with current suppliers.

The firm aims to secure 135GWh of battery capacity by 2030 — with 60GWh in the US, 40 GWh in China, 25GWh in Europe and 10GWh in Japan — in partnerships with battery firms including AESC, Carl, VEJ and Sunwoda.

Nissan will also ramp up the development of solid state batteries, starting a pilot production line later this year, testing in cars in 2026, and launching a solid state-powered BEV in 2028.

The firm will also roll out three iterations of autonomous vehicle driving technology between now and 2030, with the goal of providing full autonomous driving in the third iteration.

Nissan will build a number of ‘intelligent factories’ to support the Arc strategy — in Oppama, Japan; Canton, US; and Sunderland, UK in 2026. In 2028 the firm will build another US factory in Smyrna and in 2030 a further facility in Kyushu, Japan.

The facilities will use the firm’s EV36Zero production approach — which aims to develop an end-to-end EV manufacturing ecosystem to bring down costs.

Nissan aims to provide an affordable bi-directional charging service for its EVs by 2025, and roll out the offering in the US, Europe and Japan by 2027.

It will also expand its charging network offerings in Japan as part of a partnership with Mitsubishi.

By fiscal year 2030, Nissan sees a revenue potential of ¥2.5tn ($16.5bn) from new business opportunities.