Price parity between internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) is inching ever closer to reality, with Nissan today unveiling a new production strategy it says will cut its production costs by a significant 30 per cent.
While a little light on detail, the brand’s strategy is to share “core EV and e-POWER powertrain components”, which it says will result in cutting production costs by a third by 2026, when compared with 2019.
What’s less clear is the difference between production costs today and in 2026 (presumably it was more expensive to produce an EV four years ago than in 2023), but anything that reduces the cost of low- and zero-emission vehicles will come as welcome news to new-car shoppers.
Importantly, the brand says its e-Power vehicles and its ICE range will reach price parity by 2026. Right now in Australia, the Nissan X-Trail e-Power with e4ORCE commands a $4200 premium over its ICE equivalent.
“We make the most of our expertise and know-how from our more-than-a-decade long development and production of electrified technologies,” says Nissan Senior Vice President, Toshihiro Hirai.
“Through our innovations in electrified powertrain development, we’ll continue to create new value for customers and deliver 100 per cent motor-driven vehicles – EVs and e-POWER – as widely as possible.”
Called the “X-in-1” approach, the strategy will see the brand sharing as many components as possible across its EVs and e-Power vehicles – the latter being Nissan’s unique approach to a hybrid solution, which pairs a petrol engine with an electric motor, but with the former used only to charge the battery or provide power to the motor, and with electricity exclusively driving the wheels.
The technology is currently at work in Australia on the new X-Trail, but is expected to be rolled out across more models in the coming years.
Already the brand has developed a 3-in-1 prototype powertrain for EVs, which uses a modular motor, inverter, and reducer. Next will be a 5-in-1 powertrain, which also adds a modular generator and increaser, and which will be used for future e-Power models.
The benefits, the brand says, include lowering production costs, smaller and lighter components, and the use of fewer rare Earth materials.
Keyword: Cheaper Nissan electric cars coming soon? Price parity between Nissan X-Trail and e-Power hybrid versions not far off