By Sean McLain 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (March 24, 2018).

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Nissan Motor Co. aims to sharply increase its electric vehicle sales over the next five years, leaning on the expected explosion of sales of battery-powered vehicles in China.

In an ambitious bet on future demand, the Japanese auto maker said Friday that it aims to sell one million battery-powered vehicles per annum through the financial year ending March 2023. Nissan's sales target includes both pure electric vehicles -- like its popular Leaf, which sold some 73,000 units in 2017 -- and new e-Power hybrid gasoline-electric system.

"We see the tipping point in the next decade, when EVs become cost competitive to conventional vehicles," said Philippe Klein, Nissan's chief planning officer, using an abbreviation for electric vehicles. Many car companies project that by the mid-2020s, the price of the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles will fall far enough that they and those powered by gasoline can be sold at the same price.

Nissan has bet boldly on electric vehicles before, only to be disappointed. Its alliance with Renault SA aimed to sell a cumulative 1.5 million electric vehicles by 2016. But together, they only sold around half a million by the end of 2017.

Nissan will lean heavily on hybrids to meet its new goal. Vehicles equipped with the e-Power system will account for the majority of battery-powered vehicle sales by the 2023 target, Mr. Klein said.

The e-Power system has proven successful in Japan, and Nissan plans to roll out more cars equipped with the system around the world.

It differs from similar systems sold by Toyota Motor Corp. and others in that the vehicle is driven solely by electric motors. A small gasoline engine is used solely to recharge the onboard batteries, extending the range of the car.

To reach its new electric sales goal, Japan's second-largest car maker is looking at growth outside the U.S. -- traditionally its source of sales volume and profit.

Nissan expects that up to 40% of its sales in China, Europe and Japan will be comprised of battery-powered vehicles by March 2023. In the U.S. -- where electric vehicle sales are around 1% of the car market -- Nissan hopes that 30% of its customers buy such vehicles over the same period.

Nissan will also roll out eight new electric vehicles by March 2023, starting this year with a new battery-powered sedan intended for the China market.

The company will follow up in China next year with an entry-level electric vehicle and two battery-powered models for its local brand, Venucia.

In other markets, Nissan says it will sell an electric crossover sport-utility vehicle starting in the early 2020s. The company will also aim to boost sales of its ProPilot autonomous driving system, adding it to 20 models in the next five years.

The company currently offers ProPilot on its latest Leaf, and, in the U.S., on its popular Rogue crossover sport-utility vehicle.

"For the Rogue in the U.S., at the moment, we have limited the offer to the higher grade for simply manufacturing capacity reasons," said Mr. Klein. He expects that capacity to increase rapidly in the future.

Write to Sean McLain at sean.mclain@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.