Nissan To Launch Hybrids And Electric Vehicles In India, Africa And Middle East

Nissan’s e-Power hybrid tech uses a small-displacement petrol engine to charge the batteries, allowing for a fully electric drive

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Nissan recently revealed its mid-term four-year plan for the AMI (Africa, Middle-East and India) markets. One of the most notable inclusions in this plan was the deployment of advanced hybrid (e-Power), electric vehicle and connected car tech in the aforementioned regions. The new mid-term plan is part of the broader global transformation plan that Nissan announced recently in Japan. 

The most interesting bit in Nissan’s electrified plan is the e-Power tech, a sort of hybrid vehicle. Most hybrid vehicles use an internal combustion engine and an electric motor/motors together for propulsion. The Note e-Power does the same, however, in this case the internal combustion engine (ICE) doesn’t directly drive the wheels and the drive is pure electric. 

Range extending petrol engine.

The engine instead serves as a range extender to top up the batteries from time to time. Not requiring external charging, it takes away that range anxiety that’s associated with EVs. It also allows the ICE to be used in the most economical fashion possible. The Nissan Kicks recently got the e-Power tech in Thailand and Japan and the same could happen in India as well.

Nissan has also confirmed that it will be bringing electric vehicles to the AMI region. While there is no confirmation, there's a high chance that it will be the Ariya crossover EV. The new EV is part of Nissan's global transformation plan, which is hoping for the Ariya to be as successful as its Leaf EV hatchback. Nissan was earlier planning to launch the Leaf EV in India, but that plan never materialised.  

Nissan Ariya Concept.

Nissan has always been vocal about introducing electric vehicles and its e-Power tech in the Indian market. They were evaluating e-Power a few years ago and testing it with the Note e-Power (first Nissan model to feature the self charging EV tech) in India. The new business plan reaffirms that we could finally be getting the e-Power in the country. Thailand recently became the second manufacturing hub for e-Power after Japan. Nissan could also localise the same in India in the near future as that’s the key to competitive pricing.  

Nissan is expected to bring about these developments in a phased manner, the last of which is expected to take place in 2023. We expect them to start off with the e-Power tech because it is one of those pieces of technology that seems tailor-made for the Indian market, because of the virtually nonexistent electric infrastructure.