Nissan CEO Reveals Ariya EV's Launch Date

Nissan will unveil its all-electric crossover, the Ariya on July 15. The announcement was made no less by CEO Makoto Uchida at the carmaker’s annual shareholders meeting.

The Ariya, which debuted as a concept at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, is expected to be manufactured at Nissan’s Tochigi assembly plant, which is being converted to an EV factory. The Ariya will likely get Nissan’s new e-4ORCE all-wheel drive electric powertrain.

The production-version Ariya will debut with Nissan’s latest ProPilot 2.0 hands-off automated driving system and a new all-electric powertrain, Uchida said. The vehicle will go on sale first in Japan before being introduced to overseas markets, he added.

The EV will eventually be available at least in three markets: in the U.S., Europe, and China.

The ProPilot 2.0 system, introduced last year in Japan, allows hands-free auto-navigating highway driving from on-ramp to off-ramp. Nissan hasn’t detailed plans for deploying the 2.0 version to other markets. But it plans to introduce ProPilot systems in more than 20 models in 20 markets worldwide as part of its midterm business plan ending in March 31, 2024.

“The highlight of the new Ariya is the fusion of electrification and advanced driver-assist technologies that is expected to develop into self-driving cars in the future,” Uchida said. “We expect the all-new Ariya to play a key role as a brand driver and face of Nissan for the new era.”

The EV will help spearhead a renewal of Nissan’s global lineup, Uchida said. Nissan will introduce eight full-electric vehicles under its midterm plan, and 12 new models globally in the next 18 months.

Uchida insisted that the midterm plan he unveiled in May plots a path to achievable recovering within four years. The plan calls for restoring operating profit margin to 5 percent and increasing global sales about 9 percent to 5.38 million vehicles for a 6 percent world market share.

Source: Car Guides PH