Nissan is a brand in trouble, with net losses of ¥670.9 billion (A$7.1 billion) throughout the 2024 Japanese financial year (April 2024 to March 2025), and multiple factory closure announcements.
Earlier this year it announced it was interested in exploring a merger with Honda, something which failed to get over the line due to the latter reportedly wanting to play a bigger part in the partnership.
With a new CEO at the helm, Nissan is reportedly continuing to investigate whether it can work with other brands, though not necessarily to rebadge their products for itself.
As reported by Automotive News, two insiders told the publication Nissan is in discussions with both Ford and Stellantis (parent to Ram, Dodge, Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat and more) to supply an a hybrid SUV for them, based on its own Rogue (badged as the X-Trail in Australia).
According to the report, the SUV would be built in the Smyrna, Tennessee plant alongside the Rogue, allowing the factory to stay open and advance sales of hybrid vehicles in the region.
It would also allow whichever brand Nissan partners with to launch another hybrid model without having to outlay major development costs, something which has seen both Ford and Stellantis backtrack on recently, especially in the plug-in hybrid space.
Whatever model comes to fruition will reportedly be powered by Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system, which is different from most found on the market.
Unlike most hybrid systems the e-Power powertrain doesn’t see the petrol engine drive the wheels with electric assistance.
Instead, the petrol engine acts as a generator to the small onboard battery, which supplies power to its single electric motor at the front axle. There is no physical connection between the petrol engine and wheels.
The insiders also told Automotive News the Nissan hybrid SUV supply deal would likely lead to the brand and its prospective partner collaborating on an electric vehicle, due to slower demand for EVs both in the US and globally.
A spokesperson for Nissan’s US operations told the publication it “remains open to dialogue that delivers strategic, complementary market opportunities to our core model development efforts,” however added, “at this time, we have no agreements in place regarding production at our US plants.”
In addition to the Ford and Stellantis link, Nissan could supply its e-Power hybrid system to existing Alliance partner Mitsubishi for the latter’s Outlander SUV, currently available as a PHEV at a price premium above the petrol-only model.
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