Nissan to invest $17.6B to speed electric car rollout

Nissan Motor will invest 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) over the next five years to accelerate its electric vehicle sales, the company announced on November 29, Report informs referring to Nikkei Asia.

Nissan unveiled its "Nissan Ambition 2030" plan outlining its long-term vision and investment strategy for battery development and future electric car rollouts.

The Japanese carmaker will invest an additional 2 trillion yen in electrification technologies, including electric vehicles and hybrids, over the next five years and hopes to introduce 23 new electrified models, including 15 new EVs. Nissan wants 50% of its sales to be of electrified vehicles by 2030.

So far, Nissan has spent 1 trillion yen since 2010, including investment in powertrains and charging infrastructure.

To expand the market for electric cars, batteries will be "the key" to moving to full electrification, said Uchida. To secure a stable supply of batteries, Nissan will work with its partners to reach a production capacity of 130 gigawatt-hours globally by 2030.

The company will also speed up development of all-solid-state batteries. Uchida said the company aims to set up a pilot production line at its plant in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, by 2024 and to market the first such battery in 2028.

All-solid-state batteries are widely considered more stable and safer than the lithium-ion batteries currently used to power electric cars. Lithium-ion batteries are prone to catch fire.