Electric Cars

Nissan is actively seeking partnerships with other prominent automakers, such as Ford or Stellantis, to advance its electric vehicle strategy. This initiative follows the dissolution of its alliance with Honda earlier this year. The focus is on developing an electrified version of its popular Rogue SUV, utilizing Nissan's innovative e-POWER hybrid system. This collaboration aims to enhance Nissan's competitive edge in the evolving US market for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Nissan Explores Collaborative Avenues for Next-Gen Electric SUV

In a significant development for the automotive industry, Nissan is reportedly engaging in discussions with leading car manufacturers, including Ford and Stellantis, to co-develop its forthcoming electric and hybrid vehicle lineup. This strategic pivot comes in the wake of Nissan's unsuccessful partnership with Honda, highlighting the company's determination to accelerate its electrification efforts. Sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations suggest that a primary objective is the production of an electrified crossover SUV, specifically a version of the Nissan Rogue, which would incorporate Nissan's advanced e-POWER hybrid technology.

Nissan's recently unveiled third-generation e-POWER system is central to these plans. This innovative powertrain combines a small gasoline engine, solely used to charge the battery, with an electric motor that propels the vehicle. This configuration promises a 15% improvement in highway fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, and a quieter driving experience compared to its predecessor. While the immediate focus is on hybrid models, there is potential for these collaborations to extend into the development of fully electric vehicles, although such an expansion is not a prerequisite for current agreements.

Brian Brockman, a spokesperson for Nissan, confirmed that the company is actively investigating options to expand its local vehicle and powertrain manufacturing capabilities within the United States. This expansion is crucial to meet the escalating consumer demand for hybrid models and reinforce Nissan's market position. However, Brockman also clarified that no definitive agreements regarding production at Nissan's US facilities have been finalized at this stage.

Nissan plans to launch the new Rogue, equipped with its third-generation hybrid system, in late 2026. Production is slated for Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee, plant, signaling a concerted effort to revitalize sales in the crucial US market. Concurrently, Nissan is introducing the 2026 LEAF, touted as the most affordable new EV available in the US, with a starting price of $29,990. This updated LEAF boasts increased range, faster charging capabilities, and a fresh crossover design. Paradoxically, to streamline resources and cut costs, Nissan will discontinue its Ariya electric SUV in the US for the 2026 model year, reallocating those resources to support the new LEAF.

From an industry perspective, a partnership between Nissan and either Ford or Stellantis presents a logical and potentially beneficial strategy. Nissan currently lacks a presence in the US plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or mild hybrid segments, areas where both Ford and Stellantis have achieved considerable success. Ford's F-150 Hybrid dominates the full-size hybrid pickup market, while its Maverick Hybrid leads the midsize category. Similarly, Stellantis's Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Cherokee 4xe have emerged as top-selling plug-in hybrids in the US, alongside the strong performance of the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Dodge Hornet. For Nissan, such a collaboration could offer a rapid and effective means to enhance its competitiveness and capture a larger share of the dynamic US automotive market.

A breakthrough diagnostic tool developed by engineers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) aims to revolutionize electric vehicle (EV) range predictions. This innovative system, known as State of Mission (SOM), transcends the limitations of current EV battery indicators by offering a dynamic assessment of a vehicle's ability to complete a journey. By integrating real-world variables, SOM promises to deliver unprecedented accuracy, alleviating the persistent concern of 'range anxiety' among EV users. The team's research, detailed in the journal iScience, represents a significant leap forward in optimizing EV performance and reliability for diverse applications, from daily commutes to complex space missions.

UC Riverside Unveils Advanced AI for Precise EV Range Forecasting

In a significant advancement for electric vehicle technology, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has introduced a sophisticated artificial intelligence tool, the State of Mission (SOM), designed to offer highly accurate predictions of an EV's true operational range. This development addresses a common challenge for EV drivers: the discrepancy between a vehicle's displayed charge and its actual capacity under varying conditions.

Led by engineering professors Mihri Ozkan and Cengiz Ozkan, the UCR team's SOM system departs from conventional battery management by incorporating a comprehensive array of real-world environmental and operational factors. Unlike simple state-of-charge indicators, SOM evaluates an EV's mission viability, taking into account crucial elements such as changes in elevation, real-time traffic conditions, ambient temperature, and even the driver's unique driving style. This holistic approach ensures that the predicted range is not merely a theoretical calculation but a reliable forecast of the vehicle's capability to safely and successfully complete a planned journey.

The methodology behind SOM is a hybrid model, ingeniously combining the adaptive learning capabilities of artificial intelligence with the fundamental principles of electrochemistry and thermodynamics. This synergistic integration allows the system to continuously learn from battery behavior over time, including charge and discharge cycles and thermal responses, while remaining anchored in scientific reality. This robust foundation enables SOM to adeptly handle unforeseen circumstances, such as sudden drops in temperature or challenging uphill terrains, providing more dependable insights than systems relying solely on either rigid physics equations or opaque AI models.

Extensive testing of the SOM system utilized public datasets from esteemed institutions like NASA and Oxford University, which contained rich information on real-world battery performance, including voltage data, temperature fluctuations, and long-term trends. Compared to existing diagnostic tools, SOM demonstrated remarkable improvements, reducing prediction errors significantly across voltage, temperature, and state-of-charge metrics. Mihri Ozkan highlighted that this tool transforms abstract battery data into actionable decisions, enhancing safety, reliability, and planning not only for vehicles but also for drones and other energy-dependent applications.

While the SOM system is still undergoing development, particularly in optimizing its computational demands for seamless integration into current EV battery systems, the UCR researchers are optimistic about its future. They are actively exploring its application across emerging battery chemistries, including sodium-ion, solid-state, and flow batteries, envisioning a future where this hybrid approach improves the performance and safety of a broad spectrum of technologies, from consumer automobiles to advanced space missions.

A Leap Forward in EV Confidence and Innovation

The introduction of UCR's State of Mission (SOM) tool marks a pivotal moment in electric vehicle technology, offering a solution to the long-standing issue of range anxiety. This innovation instills greater confidence in EV drivers by providing highly accurate and context-aware range predictions, fundamentally changing how users interact with their electric vehicles. Beyond enhancing the driving experience, SOM's hybrid AI and physics-based approach sets a new standard for battery management systems, paving the way for more reliable and efficient energy applications across various sectors, from daily transportation to complex aerospace endeavors. The potential for this technology to adapt to new battery chemistries further underscores its transformative impact on the future of sustainable energy and mobility.