Nissan once had a lead in the electric car race. Its little Leaf hatchback appeared in 2010 – a practical electric daily driver at a time when EVs were far from public consciousness and Tesla was still only making its niche Roadster. The Leaf was the all-time best-selling electric car until last year, when the Tesla Model 3 overtook it.
But it could be fair to say the Japanese brand has since fallen behind the pack. Other automakers have released aggressive plans to go all-electric or close to it. GM will be mostly electric by 2035. Hyundai will roll out 23 new electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025. Mercedes will go all-electric where infrastructure allows it by 2030. The. List. Goes. On.
Could Nissan ever manage to work its way back to the front of the pack it once led?
The company now has a blueprint for how to do just that. It involves 23 new electrified vehicles by 2030. Some will appear under its Infiniti luxury marque.
“Electrified vehicles,” we should explain, is a category that includes both pure electric cars and hybrids.
Nissan’s plan is more pure electric than hybrid but uses a bit of both.
Four Concepts for Now
The company didn’t preview all 23. But it did offer some early photos.
Among them:
The Chill-Out Concept – a crossover with a coupe-like profile and panoramic glass roof. Like most concept cars, it includes some radical design ideas unlikely to ever see production. Like many recent concept cars, it uses coach-style doors. They’re everywhere this year. Everywhere. But the fundamental idea of the Chill-Out – a compact electric crossover – means this could preview the Leaf replacement we’ve heard about.
The Hang-Out Concept – a small people-mover that escalates the coach door wars with two minivan-style sliders on each side, one opening to the front and one to the rear.
The Max-Out Concept – a small electric roadster with the two seats slightly staggered.
The Surf-Out Concept – a compact electric pickup, like an EV answer to the Ford Maverick.
These four are somewhat fanciful, and the company offered no mechanical details on any of them. In the shorter term, Nissan says, we can expect to see “20 new EV and e-POWER equipped models in the next five years.” We’ll bring details as they emerge.
