Nissan Motor said on Sunday it will sell China-developed electric vehicles globally because it struck a take care of the country’s top university to leverage local resources to speed up research and development on electrification.
The Japanese automaker is considering exporting the line-up of existing internal combustion engine vehicles and upcoming pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars manufactured and developed in China to overseas markets, Masashi Matsuyama, vp of Nissan Motor and president of Nissan China, told reporters in Beijing.
Nissan is considering aiming at the identical markets as Chinese rivals resembling BYD, he said.
The corporate is joining foreign brands including Tesla, BMW and Ford which can be expanding their exports of China-made cars to take advantage of the country’s lower manufacturing costs and increase the capability utilization of their factories.
China accounted for just over a fifth of Nissan’s worldwide sales of about 2.8 million vehicles over the primary 10 months of the 12 months, down from over a 3rd for a similar period last 12 months.
Japanese automakers have faced a severe sales challenge this 12 months in China, the world’s biggest auto market, because of the recognition of domestic brands and heavy price war amid a rapid shift to EVs.
Masashi Matsuyama, vp of Nissan Motor and president of Nissan China REUTERS
Nissan announced it will establish a joint research center with China’s leading Tsinghua University next 12 months, specializing in research and development of EVs, including charging infrastructure and battery recycling.
“We hope that this collaboration will help us gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese market and develop strategies that higher meet the needs of consumers in China,” Nissan President and Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said in an announcement.
The launch of the research center is an extension of joint research efforts the corporate has had with Tsinghua since in 2016 that focused on intelligent mobility and autonomous driving technology.
