With the warm welcome of the e-Power technology through the Nissan Kicks, we wonder whether the Japanese automaker has plans to fit the electrified powertrain to other models.
Nissan Navara
During a Q&A session with Nissan executives when they visited the country, Philkotse Content Manager Jacob Oliva asked Ivan Espinosa, Senior Vice President, Global Product Planning and Program Management at Nissan Motor Corporation, whether they have plans to incorporate the e-Power technology into the Navara and Terra.
After all, the two said models are Nissan Philippines, Inc.’s (NPI) volume sellers.
In response, Espinosa said that they were actually talking about it already. However, the company pointed out more challenges than positives in making e-Powered Navara and Terra a reality.
Nissan Terra
The first one is the “excellent tax benefit” on Pickup Platform Vehicles (PPVs) that could be abolished once the government shifts the incentives to favoring electrified vehicles. If this happens, Nissan is forecasting a lower sales performance on PPV SUVs.
Another challenge is the towing capabilities of the e-Power technology, which are said to be not as competent as diesel engines. The towing capability is one of the strongest selling points of the Navara and Terra, especially for those who use the vehicles as workhorses.
But Nissan assured that it is working on improving its series hybrid powertrain. One of the recent innovations is the X-in-1 strategy, which aims to reduce development and production costs by sharing and modularizing core electric vehicle (EV) and e-Power powertrain components.
Nissan Kicks e-Power
The automaker didn’t dismiss the idea of producing the Navara and Terra e-Power models. But for now, the company will continue championing the e-Power technology through the Nissan Kicks to Filipinos.
“Looking at, again, the evolution of Kicks and what comes after, we keep doing a good job of positioning the technology, probably more in the years to come. And in that moment, we will see how far we go with pickups. Whether we do an e-Power or we do an EV, there are several solutions we can do,” concluded Espinosa.
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