After a keynote, Nissan led us into a courtyard to look at (but not photograph) a series of vehicles in various states of development. The most intriguing was a rugged electric SUV that oozed X-Terra vibes. The light-offroader will begin production in Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, plant in 2027, deftly escaping the latest tariffs announced by President Trump.
Nissan sees the vehicle as a way to differentiate itself from competitors. “You saw an outdoorsy EV, which is not what you see today. The reason to do that is to be different, because the market will get very crowded very fast. We want to come in with an offer that is more unique,” Espinosa says.
Sometimes, however, there is good reason why a certain category of EV “is not what you see today,” and while trying to be different is certainly laudable, it is not always advisable. We’ll see soon enough if Espinosa’s strategy pans out. Regardless, this Canton-built rugged electric SUV will beat Scout’s offerings to market, and will go head-to-head with Rivian’s R2. That is, if everything goes according to plan for both automakers.
Nissan has big plans and an intriguing upcoming lineup that, on paper, seems to give it the automotive firepower to be a true competitor in the electrified vehicle market. Bringing those proposals to fruition requires leadership willing to aggressively move forward while taking a long, hard look at the current situation and making drastic changes.
New Boss, Old Lineup
There’s a tinge of frustration in Espinosa’s voice as the new Nissan CEO explains the current situation with Honda. “The fact that the integration talks stopped is in no way meaning that we are not collaborating with them,” Espinosa said.
“The future of the industry is going to be very challenging, and it’s clear that the name of the game is how you build efficient partnerships that add value to your company,” Espinosa told reporters during a roundtable event. For automakers, sharing a platform reduces both parties’ financial commitment. Parts procurement also benefits. Suppliers will always prioritize the customer who places the largest order. If a part is used in multiple vehicles across multiple brands, it’s built sooner and at a lower cost.
It’s the economies of scale in action. The issue? Nissan’s scale has dropped dramatically. In 2018, the automaker was producing 5.8 million units a year. Currently, that number has dropped to 3.5 million units. Its US factories are currently underutilized, and its lineup, while slowly undergoing a refresh over the past few years, in some cases still lags behind competitors. Recent moves to rectify the situation have come with their own issues.
The Ariya was a fine reboot of the automaker’s electric vehicle strategy, but the vehicle itself hasn’t taken off like EV offerings from other automakers. Ponz Pandikuthira, Nissan’s chief planning officer for North America tells WIRED how timing hurt the vehicle’s launch. As it was introduced, Tesla began cutting prices to ward off new competitors in the market, and suddenly, the Ariya was 20 percent more expensive than a similarly equipped Tesla.
