Nissan Has a Turnaround Plan That Involves Cheaper EVs and Other Electrified Models

by Chris Teague

Published: March 25th, 2024

nissan has a turnaround plan that involves cheaper evs and other electrified models

The last decade hasn’t been the kindest to Nissan. Its former CEO had to flee Japan and is currently hiding in Lebanon, and several high-value employees left shortly after. Now, the company has reportedly backed out of a tentative deal to invest in Fisker and is eying the possibility that China could eat everyone’s lunch with affordable EVs. CEO Makoto Uchida recently outlined the automaker’s comeback roadmap, called “The Arc,” which he said would involve launching dozens of new models and enhancing the brand’s competitiveness in the EV space.

Uchida said Nissan plans to release 30 new models by 2026, including 16 electrified models. Additionally, the company will refresh 60 percent of its gas vehicle catalog at the same time. Importantly, Nissan’s EV roadmap includes plans to slash prices by 30 percent, achieving cost parity between EVs and ICE vehicles by 2030. The automaker will group the development of some models to reduce costs and partner with outside companies to leverage tech and other advantages.

These moves can’t come soon enough. Nissan’s sales have fallen significantly since 2019, down from 5.52 million that year to just 3.7 million last year. Additionally, the automaker is pursuing measures to improve revenues by the end of the decade and cut more costs.

This is no small feat for anyone to pull off, let alone a manufacturer feeling the upper limits of its financial capabilities. Nissan only sells two EVs in the U.S. at the moment, one of which is set to be discontinued. The brand does not sell any hybrids here, putting it far behind its home country rivals, Honda and Toyota, in the U.S. market.

[Image: Nissan]

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Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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2 of 17 comments

Merc190 on Mar 26, 2024

Maybe they'll make a smaller engined 260Z so I can afford it, I really dig the styling but want higher mpgs and lower operating costs.

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Ronin on Mar 26, 2024

Sales are down, so the solution is to roll out MORE e-cars- the very category that nobody wants? Even Tesla stock value is down at least 25% YTD, and they are starting to slash prices.

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Recent Comments

Tassos Under incompetent, affirmative action hire Mary Barra, GM has been shooting itself in the foot on a daily basis.Whether the Malibu cancellation has been one of these shootings is NOT obvious at all.GM should be run as a PROFITABLE BUSINESS and NOT as an outfit that satisfies everybody and his mother in law's pet preferences.IF the Malibu was UNPROFITABLE, it SHOULD be canceled.More generally, if its SEGMENT is Unprofitable, and HALF the makers cancel their midsize sedans, not only will it lead to the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ones, but the survivors will obviously be more profitable if the LOSERS were kept being produced and the SMALL PIE of midsize sedans would yield slim pickings for every participant.SO NO, I APPROVE of the demise of the unprofitable Malibu, and hope Nissan does the same to the Altima, Hyundai with the SOnata, Mazda with the Mazda 6, and as many others as it takes to make the REMAINING players, like the Excellent, sporty Accord and the Bulletproof Reliable, cheap to maintain CAMRY, more profitable and affordable.
GregLocock Car companies can only really sell cars that people who are new car buyers will pay a profitable price for. As it turns out fewer and fewer new car buyers want sedans. Large sedans can be nice to drive, certainly, but the number of new car buyers (the only ones that matter in this discussion) are prepared to sacrifice steering and handling for more obvious things like passenger and cargo space, or even some attempt at off roading. We know US new car buyers don't really care about handling because they fell for FWD in large cars.
Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.
Wjtinfwb Not proud of what Stellantis is rolling out?