Nissan Motor will stop developing internal combustion engines in Japan and China, according to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei. The company would continue to develop for the US and continue to develop hybrid engines, despite the increased focus on electric motors.
By ceasing combustion engine development in its home country of Japan and China, Nissan is ceasing that activity in nearly all of its major markets, Nikkei wrote. In Europe, the company had already stopped developing combustion engines. In the US, the company continues to develop such engines, mainly due to the popularity of pick-up trucks in that country. The company also continues to develop hybrid engines.
When it comes to internal combustion engines, the automaker is reportedly focusing almost entirely on improving existing models rather than developing new ones. Most of the resources for development go to electric vehicles and other new technologies. Nissan spends about 500 billion yen, or 3.7 billion euros, on research and development, according to Nikkei, and so far most of that has gone to internal combustion engines.
Because stricter emissions standards will apply in Europe from 2025, Nissan already noted that developing combustion engines for the European market would become unprofitable. During its discussion of the quarterly figures, Nissan does not report anything about the largely cessation of combustion engines. The car manufacturer does report that it will focus more on the EV market and, among other things, want to bring a solid-state battery for electric vehicles to the market.