Upcoming Nissan Leaf Electric To be a crossover
Upcoming Nissan Leaf Electric, which will be constructed in the UK’s Sunderland facility, has been announced as the Leaf’s replacement by Guillaume Cartier, the company’s Europe boss. Nissan announced plans to develop a new crossover in this factory in July as part of a £1 billion investment to ensure the plant’s future.
As a result, the Leaf replacement, due in 2025, will shift from a hatchback to a crossover, based on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-EV platform. By that time, Nissan expects to have five electric crossovers on the market: the Juke, Qashqai, Ariya, X-Trail, and a Leaf replacement.
Traditional types such as saloons, hatchbacks, and estates will no longer be developed in Europe by the Japanese automaker. It will, however, look to alliance allies Mitsubishi and Renault for underpinnings for other sectors, most notably a tiny car to replace the Micra.
“We’ll rely on the alliance for a complete lineup and powertrains,” Cartier added. “The entry-level segment [the Micra successor] is one topic that is still open.” The key element is how we can benefit from our partnership with Nissan.” He went on to say that the car would be an electric vehicle, but that the key challenge would be making it viable. Nissan will not invest in internal combustion engines to meet EU7 pollution requirements, which are anticipated in Europe in the middle of the decade, due to its concentration on electrification.
“Electrification is our strategic gamble,” Cartier stated. “The ballpark cost of investing in EU7 is around half the profit margin per car, or around €2,000, which we would pass on to the client.” So we gambled on EV, anticipating that the cost will come down.”
Nissan anticipates EVs to account for 80% of its sales by 2030, and by 2025, it will have electrified its entire lineup with complete EVs or e-power hybrid alternatives.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida indicated that the company will not invest in hydrogen technology in favor of battery-electric vehicles. “Our competitors have a lot of technical solutions,” he remarked. “We chose EVs for ourselves.” At Nissan, we used to have hydrogen technology, and in a different world, we may still have it. But, for the time being, this [EVs] is our asset and the path we want to go.”
Uchida also acknowledged that, due to electrification, the future of Nissan’s sports cars in Europe is still uncertain. He did say, though, that the corporation remains a fan of Formula E and will continue to compete in the series since it is a terrific way to promote their larger electric goals.
Responding to criticism that Nissan has been reluctant to capitalize on its EV effect despite launching the Leaf a decade ago, Uchida stated that plans for Nissan’s next age of electric cars and electrification will be revealed later this autumn.
Uchida stated that the lack of computer chips is affecting car production “Bit by step, things are improving,” but the crisis is far from finished and will continue for some time. Nissan has learned from the crisis that it must adapt “adjust to new ways of collaborating with suppliers [and] strengthen collaborations.”
