Nissan unveils plans for 8 new EVs by 2022

Nissan IMx concept (Nissan)

Hardly a day seems to go by right now without a major vehicle manufacturer announcing electrification plans for its range that are bigger and better than the last announcement we heard. Nissan is the latest as the Japanese auto giant has just announced plans for eight new all-electric models it intends to introduce by 2022 as part of its new 'Move to 2022' strategy, which also details plans for the brand to sell as many as one million EVs and hybrids per year by that time.

Unlike most of its major rivals, Nissan has a decent head start in this area as it already has the world's biggest-selling EV in its portfolio in the shape of the Nissan Leaf. This new strategy outlines that the manufacturer expects a massive 40 percent of total demand for its vehicles to be accounted for by EVs by 2022. And by as soon as 2025, Nissan believes that figure will grow to 50 percent due to its expanding range of plug-in electric vehicles.

The first of this raft of new electric vehicles is expected to be a crossover version of the Leaf that will be based on the IMx concept Nissan unveiled to the world last year, and it could be on sale by as soon as next year. In fact, if this ambitious plan is to be realized by 2022 this first new model will probably have to arrive by then at the latest.

If this vehicle delivers anything close to the 429 horsepower, 516 lb.-ft. of torque and 380-mile driving range on a single charge of the IMx concept, it really could be the breakthrough model Nissan and electric car enthusiasts in general have been looking for to make EVs the mainstream.

As well as the eight new EVs, Nissan also said its 'Move to 2022' strategy will see as many as one million ProPilot-equipped models being sold each year by 2022. ProPilot is Nissan's autonomous technology that enables multi-lane autonomous driving, and the company insists the first pilot tests of vehicles equipped with ProPilot are due to be carried out on Japanese roads "within one year."