Nissan Considers EREVs as Part of a Bold New PHEV and EV Strategy
The Japanese automaker intends to completely revamp its powertrain portfolio over the next five years.
Nissan is in the middle of major revamp of its lineup, ranging from long-needed updates to investing in entirely new powertrain technologies. Like most automakers, electrification is the name of the game with EVs, solid-state batteries, and now plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) all featuring prominently in the plans, but the company is also considering extended-range EVs (EREVs) for its bigger vehicles.
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A Problem Of Mass And Money
Traditionally, larger vehicles carried larger profit margins as they could be sold for higher prices without incurring much additional cost to build. As the industry transitions to EVs, though, automakers are finding out the opposite is true. Larger vehicles need larger, heavier batteries to achieve acceptable driving range, and batteries are still relatively expensive, eating up much of the profit margin. Ford recently abandoned plans for a large three-row EV SUV for this exact reason, but the physics and economics apply to everyone. Until battery prices come down, the largest vehicles will the most difficult to convert to EVs.
The compromise solution is the EREV. Similar to a series hybrid, an EREV keeps its gasoline engine and pairs it with a battery larger than you’d find in a PHEV but smaller than would be needed in a pure EV. An estimated 20 to 30 kWh should do it, according to chief planning officer Ponz Pandikuthira (EV batteries range from 60 to 135 kWh or more). The gas engine, though, is completely disconnected from the wheels and instead acts only as a generator which allows it to run only at its most efficient RPM. BMW tried the idea a few years back with the i3 REX, which used a tiny motorcycle engine as a generator. Now, Ram is getting to introduce is Ramcharger pickup with a 3.6-liter V-6 engine acting as the generator.
Speaking at Nissan’s recent Fast Forward event, Pandikuthira said the company would consider this strategy for its larger vehicles as the company electrifies its lineup. With today’s battery technology, he said EREV technology would work best in compact and mid-size SUVs like the Rogue, Murano, and Pathfinder. As batteries get better, vehicles like the Armada will become feasibly EREVs and, eventually, full EVs. He also noted EREVs work better than current EVs when it comes to hauling and towing as they allow significantly greater range and much faster refueling.
PHEV Comes First And In Many Forms
Pandikuthira also reiterated the company’s plan to expand into plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) in the next several years. First up is the Rogue PHEV, which will likely use the same parallel hybrid system as its platform mate, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV when it arrives next year. It’ll be a bit of an orphan, though, as in 2026 Nissan will introduce its E-Power series hybrid system already on-sale in Japan and Europe.
Series hybrids walk a fine line between being hybrids and EREVs, tending to treat the gasoline engine more as a generator and only connecting to the wheels physically when doing so is more efficient than just generating electricity. Most of the time, the wheels are driven by one or more electric motor. This is how direct competitor Honda’s hybrid system works on the CR-V, Accord, and Civic, though only the CR-V can be plugged in. The idea was first pioneered by the Chevrolet Volt back in 2010.
While the plug-in E-Power system is already out in other parts of the world, it’s more expensive than a parallel hybrid and isn’t as efficient on the highway, a pair of issues Pandikuthira says the company has nearly resolved and which will be sorted by 2026. The goal will be 70 miles of all-electric driving range, more than enough for the average person’s commute.
Better Lithium-Ion Batteries, Solid State Batteries Coming
Helping improve the performance, range, and manufacturing cost of Nissan’s PHEVs, EREVs, and EVs are a pair of major battery innovations, starting with a next-generation lithium-ion battery chemistry. Arriving in 2026, Pandikuthira said it offers 25-percent greater energy density than Nissan’s current batteries, which allows greater range from the same size battery or allows the company to downsize the battery and reduce cost and weight without sacrificing range. The new chemistry also charges 25 percent faster than Nissan’s current EVs, he said.
The bigger breakthrough, though, will be the solid-state battery. Companies around the world in many different industries have been working hard to take it from the lab to the market, and Nissan thinks it’ll be there by 2028 (though many previous timelines from many companies have all been wrong). Nissan’s version will be called the All Solid-State Battery, or ASSB, and Pandikuthira said it’ll have double the energy density of todays liquid electrolyte batteries and charge twice as fast. Solid-state batteries are also expected to be lighter than current batteries.
Cost Parity Is Coming By 2030
While the price you pay for an EV has been coming down, the cost to manufacture one hasn’t been dropping as quickly despite battery prices falling rapidly. Still, the day is coming it’ll cost the same to build a combustion-powered car as it does to build an EV one. Nissan thinks that’ll happen in 2030. Getting there, though, will require a 30-percent reduction in the cost to build an EV. The company expects 60 percent of its lineup to be electrified in 2030.
Solid-state batteries will help get Nissan there and so, too, will simplified manufacturing. Presenting at the same event, senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain management, David Johnson, said reducing parts diversity will help immensely. This means using the same common parts in many different vehicles rather than specialized parts for each model. This is already standard practice in the industry, but Nissan wants to take it much further as it means fewer parts to design, engineer, validate, and ship, fewer parts to incorporate into the assembly line, and easier automation of some assembly processes. To get there, Johnson said the company is involving different departments earlier in the parts design process and working with suppliers, too, rather than just taking final specs to suppliers to build. Ideally, this process will reduce both cost and time to market, an area legacy automakers have struggled with compared to startups.
Were you one of those kids who taught themselves to identify cars at night by their headlights and taillights? I was. I was also one of those kids with a huge box of Hot Wheels and impressive collection of home-made Lego hot rods. I asked my parents for a Power Wheels Porsche 911 for Christmas for years, though the best I got was a pedal-powered tractor. I drove the wheels off it. I used to tell my friends I’d own a “slug bug” one day. When I was 15, my dad told me he would get me a car on the condition that I had to maintain it. He came back with a rough-around-the-edges 1967 Volkswagen Beetle he’d picked up for something like $600. I drove the wheels off that thing, too, even though it was only slightly faster than the tractor. When I got tired of chasing electrical gremlins (none of which were related to my bitchin’ self-installed stereo, thank you very much), I thought I’d move on to something more sensible. I bought a 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT and got my first speeding ticket in that car during the test drive. Not my first-ever ticket, mind you. That came behind the wheel of a Geo Metro hatchback I delivered pizza in during high school. I never planned to have this job. I was actually an aerospace engineering major in college, but calculus and I had a bad breakup. Considering how much better my English grades were than my calculus grades, I decided to stick to my strengths and write instead. When I made the switch, people kept asking me what I wanted to do with my life. I told them I’d like to write for a car magazine someday, not expecting it to actually happen. I figured I’d be in newspapers, maybe a magazine if I was lucky. Then this happened, which was slightly awkward because I grew up reading Car & Driver, but convenient since I don’t live in Michigan. Now I just try to make it through the day without adding any more names to the list of people who want to kill me and take my job.
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