Nissan’s CEO needs to clean out his closet, according to his wife. The same goes for the 90-year-old automaker as it transitions to a new era. Nissan is gearing up to reveal a new EV plan as part of a midterm update to turn things around.
Amid falling sales, Nissan’s CEO, Makota Uchida, is taking advice from his wife. The Japanese business leader wants to reinvent the company to compete in the modern era.
Uchida’s wife said his old clothes were taking up space and long out of fashion, much like Nissan’s lineup. His wife added that the space could be better used.
Nissan’s CEO told his wife, “Yes, you’re right,” in an interview with Automotive News, “But I like them.” He added, “It’s the same thing for the company. The tendency is to hang on to all that old legacy.”
The Japanese automaker, once viewed as an EV pioneer with the release of the LEAF in 2010, has fallen behind as the industry moves toward electric.
Uchida added, referring to outdated clothes, “But is it going to fit you in the future or make you more handsome in the future? No way.”
2024 Nissan LEAF (Source: Nissan)
“We cannot continue old ways of business from the past into the future,” Nissan’s leader explained. Uchida asked, “How do we make ourselves efficient enough to be competitive against those new, fast, agile companies?”
EV leaders like Tesla and BYD are launching new models in key segments as adoption continues climbing.
(Source: Nissan)
Nissan to reveal new EV plan amid falling sales
Uchida aims to reveal a new midterm strategy by the end of March. The new plan will outline Nissan’s next three years, including a longer-term update.
According to AN, the update will address how Nissan plans to be more competitive with EVs, rivaling low-cost models from China and improving network efficiency.
Nissan Ariya electric SUV (Source: Nissan)
Despite the launch of its first EV in over a decade, Nissan’s global EV sales slipped to 127,953 through November of last year, down from 128,194 in 2022.
In comparison, Tesla handed over a record 1.81 million EVs last year, up 38% from 2022. Production was also up 35%.
BYD, which topped Tesla as the global EV leader in Q4, can launch a new car from scratch to finish in 18 months. Most automakers take around four years. The automaker builds nearly every component in-house. For example, all the parts on the Dolphin electric hatch, other than the tires and windows, are built by BYD.
2023 Nissan Ariya (Source: Nissan)
Uchida said, “Moving forward, how can we make this horizontal way of business competitive?” He believes it involves working with suppliers.
Nissan began delivering the Ariya electric SUV in Japan in May 2022, with it hitting the US later that fall.
The Japanese automaker sold 13,464 Ariya EVs in the US last year. Despite this, sales of the decade-old LEAF continue to fall. Nissan sold 7,152 LEAFs in the US last year, down from over 12K in 2022 and 14K in 2021.
Nissan’s leader said the automaker remains committed to the affordable segment but needs a better balance.
Electrek’s Take
Although Nissan’s total US sales were up 23% last year, they have yet to top the 1 million mark since 2019.
To keep up, Nissan plans to reveal a new LEAF model sometime this year. The new Nissan LEAF will look more like a crossover coupe SUV to better compete with rivals. According to one Nissan source, it will be closer to the Ariya in design, calling it a “mini-Ariya.”
Nissan aims to launch 19 new EVs by 2030, but that could change with the new EV plan. Although Ariya production is finally picking up, Nissan needs (at least) another model to complement the electric SUV.
If Nissan can launch the next-gen EV at the right price, it could help spark momentum. Nissan is known as a low-cost automaker. Transitioning from that could risk falling further behind rivals like Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, etc.
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Trump’s Interior Department halted construction on 704 megawatt (MW) Revolution Wind, the US’s first multi-state offshore wind project that’s already 80% complete. Grid operator ISO New England says the decision is a threat to the grid.
ISO New England released a statement responding to the stop-work order, warning that “delaying the project will increase risks to reliability.”:
As demand for electricity grows, New England must maintain and add to its energy infrastructure. Unpredictable risks and threats to resources – regardless of technology – that have made significant capital investments, secured necessary permits, and are close to completion will stifle future investments, increase costs to consumers, and undermine the power grid’s reliability and the region’s economy now and in the future.
Revolution Wind, a joint development between Ørsted and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, is a 65-turbine project capable of powering around 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut once it’s complete. It was expected to come online next year. The project has created more than 1,200 jobs.
On August 22, the director of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent a vague letter to Ørsted commanding it to halt all activities on the fully permitted Revolution Wind, citing “national security interests,” yet providing no details.
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BOEM’s Record of Decision for Revolution Wind, reported in 2023 in Section 4.6, page 185, states that the national security effects of the project would be “negligible and avoidable.”
This latest move echoes Trump’s cancellation in April of New York’s $5 billion Empire Wind 1 project, which was already under construction off New York’s coast. No viable reasons were given for that stop-work order either, and the cancellation was reversed in May.
Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), released the following statement in response to the Revolution Wind order:
The Trump administration’s war on the electricity needed to power the grid continues on all fronts. Halting Revolution Wind is a devastating attack on workers, on electricity customers, and on the investment climate in the US.
New England homeowners will feel this when they tear open their electricity bills and look at the surging costs of keeping the lights on.
This administration has it exactly backwards. It’s trying to prop up clunky, polluting coal plants while doing all it can to halt the fastest growing energy sources of the future – solar and wind power.
It makes no sense to say we have an energy emergency and then make decisions like this. Unfortunately, every American is paying the price for these misguided actions.
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Tesla is teasing a new product release on Friday, August 29th, coming to Europe and the Middle East. It’s likely going to be the Model Y Performance.
On X today, Tesla has teased an upcoming product release coming this friday.
The post is cryptic. It only mentions ‘spoiler alert’ and the date August 29 with what looks like a close up of a vehicle with what appears to be a spoil – hence the “spoiler alert” reference:
There are main suspect is the Model Y Performance due to the spoiler reference.
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Since the Model Y refresh in January, Tesla stopped selling the Model Y Performance. It is due to launch the top performance version under the new design.
When Tesla released the Model 3 refresh in 2024, it took about 4 months for Tesla to launch the new performance version.
Electrek’s Take
The only thing that I find strange with this likely being the Model Y Performance is the fact that they tweeted this from the Europe and Middle East account.
It would be strange for the Model Y Performance to launch there first, but who knows. Maybe Tesla started production at Gigafactory Berlin first.
I don’t think this will have a major impact on Tesla’s business. The Model Y Performance is the least popular version of the best-selling Model Y.
We don’t have the full mix of sales, but I wouldn’t be suprised if it represents less than 10% of Tesla’s Model Y deliveries.
The Model 3 Performance is probably a more popular option within the Model 3 lineup as it is a lot more fun to drive.
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The GV60 Magma will have a distinct look and feel compared to other Genesis vehicles. As the first EV from its new performance sub-brand, the Genesis GV60 Magma will debut with enhanced power, advanced suspension, a sporty new design, and more. For the first time, it was caught on video racing around the Nürburgring, giving us our closest look yet.
Genesis GV60 Magma EV flexes new style at Nürburgring
Magma is “the brand’s expansion into the realm of high-performance vehicles,” Genesis boasted. Among the first vehicles to earn a Magma upgrade is the GV60.
Genesis fine-tuned the electric crossover SUV, giving it a wider and lower stance for improved control. The larger lower air intake contributes to the aggressive new look, while also serving to cool the batteries and motor, both of which have been upgraded for enhanced performance.
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Earlier this year, we got a good look at the GV60 Magma during winter testing in Europe. Although you could see a few new design features, it was mostly covered in camo.
Genesis GV60 Magma testing with other Magma vehicles (Source: Genesis)
After it was recently spotted with less camo at the Nürburgring race track in Germany, we are getting an even better idea of what to expect when it arrives.
The video from CarSpyMedia shows the Genesis GV60 Magma EV with a production body and minimal camouflage.
You can see the high-performance vehicle flexing its power and handling as it rips around the track. Like other Hyundai Motor performance EVs, including the new IONIQ 6 N, you can expect the Genesis GV60 Magma to deliver over 600 horsepower, if not closer to 700.
The current Genesis GV60 Performance delivers up to 429 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds.
Horsepower
0 to 60 mph (seconds)
Starting Price
Genesis GV60 Performance
429
3.7
$69,900
Genesis GV60 Magma
?
?
?
Porsche Taycan
402
4.5
$99,400
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT (with Weissach Package)
1,092
2.1
$230,000
Tesla Model S Plaid
1,020
1.99
$89,990
Genesis GV60 Magma vs Porsche Taycan vs Tesla Model S Plaid
Genesis will launch the GV60 Magma EV later this year in Korea, followed by the US, Europe, and other global markets. We will learn prices and final specs closer to launch, but given the Performance models start at $69,900, you can expect a higher starting price tag, likely closer to $75,000.
At that it would be significantly less than the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Tesla Model S Plaid. Will it match the performance?
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