Nissan is expected to end further development of its internal combustion engines (ICE) in all major markets, except the US.
Rather than further refining its ICE powerplants, the Japanese company is set to focus its engineering efforts and resources on developing electric vehicles.
As such, Nissan will become the first major Japanese automaker to make a commitment to ending its involvement with internal combustion.
However, in the US, “limited development” will continue on gasoline engines for the US market, according to Nikkei. Nissan will continue to develop the engines used in its US-only pickup trucks, where it expects demand to continue.
Nissan will also phase out the development of gasoline engines for the Chinese and Japanese markets, though it will continue with engine development for hybrids.
In Europe, Nissan reckons that the new Euro 7 emissions standards will raise the cost of further developing internal combustion engines making them unsustainable for the business. The Euro 7 rules are expected to come into effect as early as 2025.
However, Nissan will still continue to refine existing engine designs for as long as it is selling gasoline-powered vehicles. Instead, Nissan will stop developing new engines.
According to people familiar with the company’s plans, there are no plans to close engine-producing factories and nor are any workers set to lose their job “at this stage.”
Japanese automakers have been surprisingly reticent to jettison their ICE development in favour of EVs, as many European manufacturers have done.
Toyota, for example, has shown very little interest in developing hybrid or battery-electric vehicles and is instead focusing all of its efforts on developing hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen-powered engines.
This, of course, flies in the face of much of the infrastructure development taking place around the world, with governments and the private sector rushing to fill parking spaces with electric charging points.
This move from Nissan, however, certainly makes it stand out from its homegrown competition.
Keyword: Nissan to Stop Internal Combustion Engine Development