For a long time, the LEAF was the lone all-electric representative in the Nissan lineup. Soon it will be joined by the recently presented Ariya SUV, but not surprisingly the Japanese automaker’s ambitions don’t appear to end there.
Online magazine Autocar has reported that the company is considering developing a larger all-electric SUV to slide into the lineup above the new Ariya. The key is the new CMF-EV modular architecture on which the new Ariya model is based, and which will underpin any number of EVs to come from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
Autocar was told by Helen Perry, EV division head for Nissan Europe, that “the platform will be used for other cars in the future”. She added that it’s expected that compact and midsize SUV segments will “grow about 300 percent over the next three years, so we will look to use the platform in growth segments in the next few years.”
This does seem to point to a new SUV product just larger than the Ariya, but to be clear Nissan has not specified any timetable for development of specific types of EVs. Helen Perry did say that decisions will largely be dictated by what consumers do in the coming months and years:
“It all depends on the demand of the customer. If we’d brought Ariya to market earlier, I’m not sure customers would have been ready for it... And while Covid-19 has been terrible, it has made customers review what is important – for example, emissions.”
- Helen Perry, Nissan Europe
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