Nissan is set to turn to China to fill its Australian showrooms with rivals for the Tesla Model 3, Zeekr 7X and hot-selling BYD Shark 6.
Electric Cars
Nissan is one step closer to revealing plans for a wave of Chinese-made hybrid and electric cars for Australia to compete against Tesla, BYD and Zeekr.
An alliance between Nissan and its Chinese joint-venture partner, Dongfeng, has seen the door open to three models that could be in Australian showrooms in the next 12 to 18 months.
Two more candidates from Nissan's Chinese line-up have now emerged: the large five-seat NX8 SUV with electric and range-extender hybrid powertrains, and the electric N7 sedan.
It gives Nissan Australia an indirect replacement for the now-axed Pathfinder, a plug-in hybrid ute to compete with the BYD Shark 6, and electric cars to compete with Chinese rivals.
Nissan is using Chinese partner Dongfeng’s faster development cycles to produce electrified vehicles with more advanced technology than is currently available in the Japanese giant's home-produced vehicles.
"In the case of the China products, there's some good opportunities for Australia, absolutely no doubt: the P20 [Frontier Pro], and the N7 is also a very good candidate [for] Australia," Richard Candler, Nissan's head of Family, Product and Component Strategy, told Australian media including Drive.
"I see broad potential for an NX8; for sure, this is one of the priority cars that we will take on a broad global axis.
"What we've confirmed already is the N7 and the Frontier Pro – we've confirmed some markets for both of those products as the front runners, and NX8 will come shortly after.
"We [also revealed] the new Rogue/X-Trail with e-Power; this, I think, is also a good opportunity for Australia."
The NX8 is a mid-to-large-sized electrified SUV that recently launched in China as the third member of Nissan’s N-Series.
It uses an 800-volt electrical system for fast charging capable of recovering 300km of lab-tested range in a claimed six minutes.
It is sold as an electric vehicle with a 250kW/310Nm rear electric motor and 580km to 650km of claimed driving range in Chinese CLTC lab testing.
A range-extended (EREV) version is also available, using a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine to generate energy for an electric motor powering the wheels, for up to 1450km of claimed hybrid range.
Meanwhile, the N7 is an electric sedan similar in size to a BYD Seal, and larger than a Tesla Model 3, with front-wheel drive and the same high-speed computing architecture as the NX8.
Two large interior screens, artificial intelligence technology and semi-autonomous driving capabilities developed through the Dongfeng partnership give it a more high-tech feel than existing Nissans.
For the Australian market, the Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid (PHEV) would be a critical addition.
It is expected to be sold alongside the Mitsubishi Triton-based diesel Navara in Australia, though it remains to be seen if the PHEV borrows part of its nameplate for Australia.
The Frontier Pro PHEV uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, an electric motor and a 32.9kWh battery for claimed outputs of 320kW and 800Nm, and the ability to tow a braked weight of 3.5 tonnes.
It claims an electric-only driving range of up to 115km in Chinese testing, and features a vehicle-to-load (V2L) function for powering external equipment or appliances.
Nissan Australia needs these electric and range-extender options alongside its petrol, diesel and hybrid line-up to help meet the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), rules which penalise car companies for selling too many high-emissions vehicles.
Only Mazda is in line for more in fines under the first phase of the emissions targets than Nissan, which must offset its performance with sales of additional hybrid and electric cars if it is to avoid a $10.8 million penalty.
Through the Dongfeng partnership, Nissan announced it will produce 10 new electrified cars within four years; it has already produced five within the last 18 months, and five more will be launched in the next 18 months.
Two of these new products, both SUVs, will be shown at the Beijing motor show next week.
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Samantha has been obsessed with cars and combustion engines for most of her life, and has spent the past 25 years deep in the automotive and motorsport industries. An automotive awards judge, rally driver and motorsport tragic, she spends weekdays writing about cars and weekends off-road, off-grid or running amok at the track.
