Nissan’s Makoto Uchida: ‘We will require a multi-power strategy to make electric mobility reality’

Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of the new champions in Dalian, China, on July 3, senior vice president Makoto Uchida said that the future of mobility will be more electric, more connected and more autonomous but to turn the promise of an electric mobility future into a reality, it will require more than one kind of electric vehicle technology. It will require a multi-power strategy.

Representing Nissan as chairman of the management committee for China, Uchida further said, “It is clear that there is very strong momentum for building a sustainable electric mobility future for China. At Nissan, we are thinking big when it comes to EV technology. Along with autonomous driving and connectivity, electrification forms the heart of our Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision to move people to a better world.”

As EV markets develop rapidly, they face challenges including reduced government incentives, charging infrastructures that remain inadequate in most of the world, concerns about the driving range of current EV battery technology, and the need for faster EV development. At the same time, different customers have different needs. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for all countries and all regions, as they differ in size, economic strength, infrastructure and customer needs.

Nissan is embracing a multi-power strategy that is more market-focused and more customer-focused. It is also drawing on its 70-year history of developing EV technologies and its long track record of selling electric cars to the mass market.

Nissan and its joint venture partner in China, Dongfeng Motor (DFL), have made electrification a central part of their midterm business plan, called DFL TRIPLE One. According to the plan, by 2022 it aims to have 20 electrified models (EV and e-POWER), 30 percent of all sales electrified, three key e-components shared by EV and e-POWER to be 100 percent localised within three years, and more battery recycling, reuse, and power storage facilities to be built by 2022.

To support the goals of DFL’s midterm plan, Nissan will follow an approach that brings the right products to market only when the market is ready and design products to meet the specific needs of Chinese consumers. Nissan is looking for continued collaboration with the government, both central and local, and its partners on this approach.

But what happens in China’s EV market will also send clear signals to other nations trying to transition to an electric mobility future. That is why, at the World Economic Forum meeting in Dalian, Uchida encouraged the public and private sectors in China and across the world to embrace this multi-power and multi-energy strategy to meet the diversified needs of consumers in different regions. This approach will speed the adoption of EV technologies by more customers everywhere.