Nissan's European CEO, Guillaume Cartier, spoke with Autocar and revealed that the move toward electrification of existing models is aimed at making future electric vehicles more familiar. He believes that the e-Power hybrid powertrain will help to aid the push toward electric vehicles in a "transition manner, in a smart manner, with e-Power, then to BEV." The Qashqai e-Power hybrid uses an ICE powertrain to power the battery, which powers the electric motor. This setup was easier to adopt than the traditional battery-electric setup, and therein lies the secret.
The X-Trail, which only sold 2,380 units in Europe last year, will also be electrified to make it more appealing to customers. It will likely ride on the Common Module Family (CMF) platform designed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, as will the Qashqai EV. Nissan is betting on electrification to attract more buyers and increase sales of the X-Trail, which pales in comparison to the Nissan Ariya that sold 3,182 units in Europe, despite not being available for an entire year.
The X-Trail and Qashqai EV are expected to be part of many exciting electric vehicles to come out of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Any electric variants are expected as replacements for the current-generation models and scheduled to arrive between 2025 and 2027. A Juke EV is due first, but Cartier hinted that all three will be sold alongside an e-Power variant.
Source: Autocar
