2003 Nissan Xterra on 2040-cars

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Nissan and Infiniti to get 6 EVs within 5 years

Nissan will get four new electric-powered vehicles, while its luxury division Infiniti will get two over the next five years, a top executive told Automotive News. The six EVs will make up Nissan and Infiniti's share of the 12 electric vehicles planned for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi by 2022, though there's no word on how the numbers break down for those other brands. Infiniti last month announced plans for its first all-electric vehicle in 2021, plus new "e-Power" series hybrids like the ones it has introduced in other markets. But the six vehicles divulged by Toshihiro Hirai, Nissan's corporate vice president for powertrain and EV engineering, reportedly include only full battery-electrics and not hybrids. The only full-electric currently offered by either brand in the U.S. is the Nissan Leaf, which was just updated for 2018. Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has been a consistent supporter of electric vehicles, and he has said EVs need greater government incentives, lower development costs and a greater recognition among the buying public of the risks of climate change in order to gain traction among consumers. Last summer, Nissan-Renault announced plans to build electric vehicles in China in a new venture with Dongfeng Motor to meet EV quotas. They'll use a subcompact crossover platform from its own vehicle family.Related Video:

Nissan To Buy Mitsubishi For $2.2B | Autoblog Minute

Nissan confirmed this week that it would take a controlling interest in troubled Japanese automaker Mitsubishi. Nissan will buy 34% of Mitsubishi for $2.2B. Mitsubishi Nissan Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

Nissan promising autonomous car production by 2020

Nissan will bring the autonomous car to consumers by the end of this decade. The announcement was made by CEO Carlos Ghosn at the company's US headquarters in Irvine, CA. Nissan has already begun construction of a dedicated proving ground for the self-driving cars in Japan, with completion targeted for the end of 2014.
Teaming with MIT, Stanford, Oxford and others, Nissan has already outfitted Leaf EVs with the Autonomous Drive (Nissan's brand name for the tech), a suite of new technologies developed from the brand's existing Safety Shield technology. The current iteration of Autonomous Drive uses the Around-View Monitoring system and laser scanners to analyze the environment, while artificial intelligence systems have been installed to help navigate and operate in a changing environment.
While it's easy to say that Nissan will bring the technology to market within the next six or seven years, it's more difficult to say at what price Autonomous Drive will be available. Most remarkable about all of this is Nissan's claim that self-driving cars will be both commercially viable and available at "realistic prices for consumers." It's expecting Autonomous Drive to be available across its range within two vehicle generations.