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Nissan Australia wants more electric cars

Nissan, one of the pioneers of the electric vehicle segment in Australia, is planning to roll out more battery-powered cars in the coming years.


While Nissan recently introduced its second generation Leaf hatchback, it is already working on other electric models to sell alongside it.

“We’re busily working with the global team on how we will address electrification,” Nissan Australia boss Stephen Lester told Drive. “And that’s not just limited to Leaf.”

Nissan Australia is also lobbying to gather support from the public and the government sector to improve the accessibility of electric cars across the country.

“We’ve had workshops with Australia’s chief scientist talking about electrification, talking about the future and the road map for that and how we can be more prepared for the future,” said Mr Lester.

 

Drive

“We have a high volume of off-street parking in Australia, we have exceptional access to solar, and there is extraordinary sustainable development starting to be built around the country. We can change how we use energy and use energy differently.”

Nissan says some electric cars will eventually also be able to send power back to the grid, which can be helpful during electricity outages and natural disasters.

“Vehicle to grid will come online in Australia very shortly, that’s already production-ready, and that opens up the opportunity for us to talk to consumers about how they can use their vehicle differently, how that can benefit them,” said Mr Lester. “Even our mainstream portfolio can become electric in different ways and we want to continue to be leaders in that space.”

Nissan says the company continues to assess ways to improve the Leaf, its flagship electric car for now.

“The question of whether we can improve upon the Leaf offering is a great question," said Mr Lester. “I think you are 100 per cent correct that there is more opportunity there.”

 

Drive

Nissan also agreed there is an opportunity in Australia for a sub-$40,000 electric vehicle.

“An electric Juke would absolutely work,” Frank Ianelli, product manager for the Nissan Juke, told Drive. “As a business, electrified product is part of our future plans, and we look forward to the future.”

Indeed, the new Nissan Juke platform is already primed for a switch to electric power if needed.

“The new platform is future-proof from a powertrain point of view, that either have been, or will be, developed,” said Mr Ianelli. “At the moment, though, the three-cylinder is the only engine available.”

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Trent Nikolic

Trent Nikolic has been road testing and writing about cars for almost 20 years. He’s been at CarAdvice/Drive since 2014 and has been a motoring editor at the NRMA, Overlander 4WD Magazine, Hot4s and Auto Salon Magazine.

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