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Nissan is accelerating efforts to electrify its car models in Europe and Japan, as a growing list of nations impose deadlines to phase out gasoline-powered cars and competition mounts from domestic and overseas rivals.
The automaker now expects 98 percent of its sales in Europe to be hybrid or full-electric in fiscal 2026, up from its prior target of 75 percent set in November 2021, the Yokohama-based company said in a statement Monday.
For its home market, it anticipates 58 percent electrified vehicle sales, up from 55 percent.
Nissan, which released the Leaf — the world’s first mass-produced battery electric vehicle — in 2010, is now seeking to catch up with Tesla in the U.S. and Volkswagen Group in Europe.
The automaker has committed 2 trillion yen ($14.7 billion) to electrify more of its lineup and make EVs a key driver of future growth.
Ashwani Gupta, chief operating officer, said in a briefing that Nissan will introduce 27 electrified models, including 19 EVs, by fiscal 2030, up from the previously planned 23 models and 15 EVs.
As a result, 55 percent of Nissan’s sales, including for the Infiniti brand, will be from electrified vehicles, according to the automaker.
Electrified vehicles made up 13 percent of global sales in the third quarter of 2022.
Nissan will fully localize US EV production and comply by 2026 with Inflation Reduction Act subsidy requirements, including the decarbonization of its Tennessee plant, Gupta said.
The law, which was passed in the US last year, provides generous incentives for selling EVs but has stringent requirements on manufacturing and supply-chain sourcing.
Nissan is targeting 40 percent of sales to be EV-only by fiscal 2030.
“The IRA is giving us the opportunity to speed up electrification in the United States,” Gupta said. “We have completed the path to comply with the IRA.”
Nissan cut its electrification target in China to 35 percent from 40 percent in fiscal 2026.
In China’s market for battery-powered EVs, Gupta said local brands are “leading the way,” and as such Nissan will release an EV SUV in 2024.
“This is the new way Nissan is going to work in China, for China,” the COO said.