Nissan accelerates shift to electric vehicles, especially in Europe

Nissan is speeding up its shift toward electric vehicles, especially in Europe where it will make 98 of all its offerings electric or series-hybrids by fiscal 2026.

The previous target is 75 percent.

Europe has the stringest emissions regulations.

In Japan, the company aims to make 58 percent of its model offerings, up from an earlier target of 55 percent.

Nissan’s sales target in EVs and series hybrids in US remain at more than 40 percent, while the target for pure EVs in China was cut to 35% from 40%.

Nissan’s target numbers do not include expected vehicle sales of Nissan’s alliance partners, such as Renault SA of France or Mitsubishi Motors Corp., a smaller Japanese carmaker.

Nissan was an early leader in electric vehicles, with its Leaf, which went on sale in 2010. It has been overtaken since then by newcomers like Tesla and Chinese automaker BYD.

Company officials claim that Nissan has a wealth of EV technology knowledge, especially about how consumers use the products, and what kind of wear and tear develop on the battery and other knowledge critical for the proliferation of green cars.

Nissan plans to roll out 19 electric vehicle models by 2030, up from an earlier 15, it said.

Nissan plans to invest in up to a 15 percent stake in Ampere, Renault’s electric vehicle and software entity in Europe.