Nissan exports electric vehicles developed in China to global market – Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Nissan logo is seen on a car ahead of a press conference at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in Sunderland, England, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co said on Sunday it will sell China-developed electric vehicles (EVs) globally as it signed a deal with a top Chinese university to leverage local resources to accelerate research and development on electrification. .

Nissan (OTC:) Automotive President and Nissan Vice President Masashi Matsuyama announced that the company is considering exporting existing internal combustion engine vehicles manufactured and developed in China and the soon-to-be-released lineup of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to overseas markets. Nissan China told reporters in Beijing.

Nissan is considering targeting the same market as its Chinese rivals, including BYD (SZ:), he said.

The company is joining foreign brands including Tesla (NASDAQ:), BMW (ETR:) and Ford (NYSE:) in expanding exports of Chinese-made cars to take advantage of China’s lower manufacturing costs and increase factory capacity utilization.

China accounted for more than a fifth of Nissan’s global sales of about 2.8 million vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, down from more than a third in the same period last year.

Japanese car manufacturers faced serious sales difficulties this year due to the popularity of domestic brands and intense price competition due to the rapid transition to electric vehicles in China, the world’s largest automobile market.

Nissan announced that it plans to establish a joint research center with China’s Tsinghua University next year to focus on electric vehicle research and development, including charging infrastructure and battery recycling.

“We hope this collaboration will help us gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese market and develop strategies to better meet the needs of Chinese customers,” Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement.

The establishment of this research center is an extension of the company’s joint research efforts with Tsinghua University since 2016, focusing on intelligent mobility and autonomous driving technologies.