YOKOHAMA, Japan — Just as recently troubled Nissan Motor Co. regains traction in its key U.S. market, it is placing a multibillion-dollar bet on radically rebuilding itself again, this time around electric vehicles.
CEO Makoto Uchida said the new push to dramatically expand Nissan's U.S. sales of battery-electrics by 2030 will do more than springboard off the automaker's recent recovery. It will also accelerate the carmaker's upmarket move, he pledged, by burnishing the high-tech credibility of the Nissan and Infiniti brands.
"Our brand image has improved, and the new products are promising," Uchida told Automotive News at the company's headquarters here. "Now we are entering the next phase of how we can extend our brand power to reach customers. ... We would like to further the customer's recognition of our brand power in terms of the electrification that's coming."