Nissan aims to electrify 25% of its upcoming vehicles in Asia and Oceania by 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: The recently held 2019 Nissan Futures event was focused around the Japanese automobile manufacturer’s electrification drive. Nissan has announced that it will pursue to electrify 25% of its sales in Asia and the Oceania region by 2022 under the M.O.V.E plan. The event was based on the theme of “transform the way we live and drive.”

Yutaka Sanada, Nissan’s Regional Senior Vice President of Asia and Oceania, assured that the new Nissan Leaf would launch in the Philippines and Indonesia in 2020. By this, the two nations will join the list of seven countries, namely Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand, who are already bestowed with the Leaf. Moreover, the M.O.V.E plan also includes the launch of e-Power vehicles in this region. Singapore is going to the first to receive an e-Power model, which will be the Serena e-Power.

The company is also seeking to initiate the construction and localisation of electrification parts in the key markets of Southeast Asia. In this ambitious drive, it is speculated that Nissan has a keen interest in Thailand for the assembly of its electrified vehicles.

To keep the pricing of its electric cars within a favourable bracket, the company will need to fulfil the criteria to get incentives under the current Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) scheme. This can be done in two ways, either the Edaran Tan Chong Motor (franchise holder of Nissan vehicles in Malaysia) will have to invest in building assembly plants, or it will need to negotiate with the government.

The company also needs to supplement the markets that are going to receive electrified vehicles. This includes charging infrastructure, government policies, and suitability to operate. In the spirit of this, Nissan has commissioned ‘Frost and Sullivan’ to submit a report that will identify and explore a particular region and ensure it is prepared to sustain the electric vehicles.