Is Nissan too slow with electrification? Former boss Carlos Ghosn thinks so

Carlos Ghosn, the former boss of Nissan and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, who was accused of financial wrongdoings during his tenure with the auto company, believes that the Japanese auto manufacturer is too slow with its electrification strategy. Ghosn said in an interaction that the high speed of transition towards electrification will decide who would win the race.

The automaker said that the speed of the shift is going to determine who is going to be the winner. He also said that the Chinese are going to play beautifully with electrification. “Newcomers like Tesla and manufacturers from China are in a better position than legacy manufacturers. The established manufacturers must accelerate the electrification to stay competitive," Ghosn said.

Ghosn played a key role behind Nissan's EV drive that started with Leaf EV in December 2010. He claimed that when Nissan launched the mass-market electric car Leaf EV, the auto industry laughed at the automaker. However, after a decade, the story is completely different and all the automakers are thriving for electrification.

Ghosn believes that the early beginning of the EV push was challenging and a bit too optimistic. However, the direction was recognized correctly and required a continuous push. “Frankly, for ICE cars, there will be no tomorrow, sooner rather than later," added Ghosn.

Nissan a few months back has announced an $18 billion electrification plan. This strategy includes 50 per cent electrification of its total vehicle fleet by the end of March 2031. However, Carlos Ghosn finds this electrification strategy too slow and he dubs Nissan visionless in this new era. "They are really in a very bad position in this race. There is no vision. They don't know where they're going. They have no image about this huge technological transformation that is taking place," Ghosn further added.