Nissan to Cut Petrol Car Output in China as Electric Demand Grows

Nissan said it will cut back production of petrol cars in China and increase output of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, according to The Guardian. The carmaker's chief executive, Ivan Espinosa, said the shift to what is known as new energy vehicles in China is happening faster than the company expected. Those terms cover battery-only electric cars and plug-in hybrids, which combine a battery that can be charged from a socket with a petrol engine.

The change follows a difficult period for Nissan in China. Its sales there fell 22% in the first half of the year and were down 32% across the first nine months. The company has lowered its full-year sales forecast to between 2.97 million and 3 million cars, down from 3.15 million, mainly because of the situation in China.

Nissan said its product line in the country, led by the Sylphy family of saloon cars (four-door sedans), was too closely associated with petrol engines. To address this, it is cutting local production in China and exporting some products, while trying to ramp up its N series of electric and plug-in hybrid models.

The company reported higher sales in Japan and in North America. Its only European factory is in Sunderland, in northern England.