Nissan bets on its hybrid EV to drive a comeback

Money-losing Japanese automaker Nissan is banking on its latest “e-Power” technology for a turnaround.

A kind of hybrid, e-Power comes equipped with both an electric motor and gasoline engine, much like the Toyota Motor Corp. Prius. It’s different from a Prius in that it doesn’t switch back and forth between the motor and engine during the drive.

That means the car always is running on its EV battery, ensuring a quiet, smooth ride.

“Nissan has a proud history of pioneering innovative technology that set us apart,” Chief Technology Officer Eiichi Akashi told reporters on the sidelines of a test drive at its Grandrive course outside Tokyo.

The advantage of e-Power vehicles is that they never need to be charged like EVs do. The owner just fuels up at a gas station and the car never runs out of a charge.

Nissan Motor Corp., which racked up a $4.5 billion loss for the fiscal year through March, sorely needs a hot-seller, especially in the lucrative North American market. But the U.S. market is proving a big headache for all the Japanese automakers because of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

To achieve a turnaround, Nissan is working on reducing costs, strengthening business partnerships and redefining its lineup. That’s where e-Power fits in, according to Akashi.

Yokohama-based Nissan announced earlier this month that it’s slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, and reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17, under an ambitious recovery plan led by its new Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa.

Nissan officials did not give a price for the upcoming e-Power models. The one other automaker that offers a similar technology is “kei,” or tiny car, manufacturer Daihatsu Motor Co.

E-Power is already offered on the Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail model in Europe, and the Note in Japan. The upgraded version will be offered in the new Rogue in the U.S.

Nissan, a pioneer in EVs with its Leaf, which went on sale in 2010, is also preparing beefed up EV models. It’s also working on a solid-state battery which is expected to replace the lithium-ion batteries now widely used in hybrids, EVs and e-Power models.

Analysts say Nissan is in danger of running out of cash and needs a partner. Speculation is rife its Yokohama headquarters building will get sold, or one of its Japan plants will be turned into a casino.

Nissan started talks last year with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. for a business integration but announced in February that it was dropping the talks.

—Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer

https://www.fastcompany.com/91340987/nissan-hybrid-ev-drive-comeback?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Vytvořeno 3mo | 27. 5. 2025 17:20:02


Chcete-li přidat komentář, přihlaste se

Ostatní příspěvky v této skupině

Lost luggage hauls are the internet’s strangest new trend

Ever wonder what happens to the bags that never make it to baggage claim? Some of them are now turning up in influencers’ lost luggage hauls.

It’s every traveler’s nightmare: you land, b

29. 8. 2025 0:40:06 | Fast company - tech
The government just made it harder for you to weigh in on federal rules

For years, advocacy groups made it easy for Americans to weigh in on federal regulations. If a proposed rule threatened internet freedoms or environmental protections, organizations could set up s

28. 8. 2025 20:10:07 | Fast company - tech
Intel has received $5.7 billion under Trump’s investment deal

Intel received $5.7 billion in cash on Wednesday night as part of the deal U.S. President

28. 8. 2025 20:10:04 | Fast company - tech
Is the generative AI revolution stalling out?

Welcome to AI DecodedFast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in

28. 8. 2025 17:40:14 | Fast company - tech
As online age checks become more common, critics worry about losing internet freedom

Online age checks are on the rise in the U.S. and elsewhere, asking peop

28. 8. 2025 17:40:12 | Fast company - tech
Exclusive: Inside Grindr’s audacious, all-in bet on ‘Gay I’

For nearly two years, George Arison, the CEO of LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr, has been promising to bring an “

28. 8. 2025 15:30:06 | Fast company - tech
Can artists really stop AI from stealing their work?

Misshapen eyes and hands with too many fingers once made AI-generated

28. 8. 2025 15:30:04 | Fast company - tech