Japanese car manufacturer, Nissan, is committing to the future of electric cars by ceasing the development of petrol and diesel cars.
Nissan is forging their own path, as the Japanese trio of Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru are joining forces to collaborate on producing a new generation of combustion engines to run on alternate fuels.
The trio will look at alternatives including biofuels, liquid hydrogen, and other synthetic fuels.
The trio have been criticised for lagging in the development of electric vehicle options, a market that in Australia has become dominated by China either through the US branded, but China built, Tesla or the ambitious BYD which started life as a battery manufacturer.
Nissan, however, has made it clear that all-new petrol and diesel internal combustion engines (ICE) will no longer be developed by the brand, signalling its shift to an electrified future.
Earlier this year Nissan announced a partnership with Honda to further explore innovation in electric models and challenge the rise of Chinese made EVs. This follows media coverage reporting the company will continue to utilise a partnership with Mitsubishi and Renault.
Nissan’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Planning Officer for the AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania) region, Francois Bailly, emphasised the focus on going all electric.
“Our future is EV,” Bailly says.
“e-Power is a stepping stone to get there, and each market will go at their own pace.”
“We’re not investing in new powertrain for ICE, that’s for sure.”
Nissan is developing its next-generation of e-Power hybrid systems, which will raise outputs but lower costs and fuel use.
Bailly stopped short of putting an expiration date on ICEs, saying each market will go at its own pace towards electrification.
“I can take you to other markets like Africa,” Bailly says.
“Africa’s market is like Euro2, Euro4, so the pace of that [ICE] decline really depends market-by-market, but our investment is clear.
“It’s EV, reinforce e-Power.”