Nissan boss says ‘no going back’ on EV vehicles

LONDON (AFP): The head of Nissan on Monday said the company had no reverse gear for electric, despite the UK government rowing back on one of its flagship policies.

“More than a million customers have already joined our journey and experienced the fun of a Nissan electric vehicle,” said Makoto Uchida.

“There is no turning back now,” he added.

Uchida’s pledge came just days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak enraged green campaigners and the car industry by postponing a proposed ban on new petrol and diesel cars by five years from 2030 to 2035.

But he insisted it would not affect UK targets to hit net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century.

Nissan unveiled its new 20-23 Concept car in London on Monday to mark the 20th anniversary of its design studio in the Paddington area of the British capital.

Uchida promised that Nissan “will make the switch to full electric by 2030 in Europe”, saying “it is the right thing to do for our business, our customers and for the planet”.

The Japanese carmaker, a partner of France’s Renault, announced in February that it was speeding up its move towards electrification.

It aims for 98 percent of sales of electric vehicles (electric or hybrid) in Europe by 2027.

“With many countries debating when to ban sales of internal combustion engines, Nissan is pressing ahead with plans to achieve 100 percent EV in Europe by 2030,” Nissan said.

All new models on the European mainland will be all-electric from that date, it added.

Globally, the carmaker expects to launch 19 all-electric vehicles between now and the end of the current decade.

It also plans to introduce cobalt-free technology to reduce the cost of EV batteries by 65 percent from 2028.

British car manufacturing lobby group the SMMT last week said the UK government postponement had caused “confusion and uncertainty” in the sector.