New Nissan X-TRAIL to spearhead e-POWER assault

UPDATE 15/06/2020: Fresh teaser added.

Next year’s all-new Nissan X-TRAIL will be available with a unique hybrid powertrain that will kick-start the Japanese car-maker’s electrification assault in Australia.

Images of the next-generation Nissan X-TRAIL, which is expected to be officially revealed within weeks, were leaked in April in the form of the US market’s 2021 Nissan Rogue, as it’s badged in North America.

Due on sale in Australia in the second half of 2021, the new Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER will function differently to existing petrol-electric SUV competitors such as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

The Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER will drive exclusively with an electric motor, providing an EV-like driving experience with almost instant torque delivery.

Instead of driving the wheels, the e-POWER system’s petrol engine is used exclusively as a generator to recharge a small (read: affordable) lithium-ion battery.

Asked if hybrid powertrains like the new X-TRAIL’s e-POWER system would play a part in his company’s future product plans, Nissan Australia chief Stephen Lester was unequivocal.

“To answer your question, yes, alternative powertrains for Australia will be very, very important and we certainly think that Australian consumers are keen to explore and experience opportunities with technologies like e-POWER.”

Nissan’s new rival for the RAV4, Australia’s most popular hybrid, will be bolstered by a second SUV powered by the unique e-POWER hybrid system, said Lester.

“By 2022 we’ll have about 30 per cent of our portfolio electrified. That still remains the plan today.

“We certainly see the success globally of e-POWER being a strong part of that [plan], and that’s where certainly vehicles like QASHQAI and X-TRAIL are very well suited to that type of powertrain,” he said.

The e-POWER concept, in which the petrol engine is tucked away under the bonnet but has no connection to the wheels, isn’t new but the Nissan Australia boss says Australians are ready to embrace the technology.

“Consumers here certainly are looking at it and saying, ‘how can I drive something that’s different? I want to be on the bleeding edge’, if you will.

“We’ll bring e-POWER into the market as quickly as possible,” confirmed Lester.

As hybrid vehicles become more affordable, their popularity is increasing and more car brands are looking to bring electrified vehicles to market.

Toyota is leading the way in terms of hybrid products in Australia and has made no secret of plans to have a hybrid version of every model in its range by 2025 – including heavy-hitters like the LandCruiser and Australia’s top-selling vehicle, the HiLux.

In the hugely popular medium SUV segment, the Subaru Forester has joined the RAV4 with a hybrid offering, while the fourth-generation Hyundai Tucson is expected to bring a conventional hybrid version when it lobs in late 2020. The new Nissan X-TRAIL with e-POWER is expected to follow in the second half of 2021.

Half of all Toyota RAV4s bought by Aussies so far this year were hybrids, but Lester insists vehicles like the hybrid Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER are superior to traditional hybrids offered by Toyota.

“Being fully electric to the wheels also offers all the benefits of EV without some of the compromises from a traditional hybrid layout,” he said.

We recently tested the Japanese-market Nissan Note e-POWER, which is powered by an electric motor and a small lithium-ion battery recharged by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine.

Unlike most EVs, it has a theoretical range close to 1000km and can refueled at a petrol station in minutes, making it one of Japanese brand’s top-selling cars in recent times.

Lester says the tide is turning for electrified vehicles globally and locally, but cautioned that piecemeal offerings are unlikely to be tolerated by new-car buyers who are more informed than ever.

“Certainly, the thing about all these products taking off… the product has to be desirable for consumers. It’s not enough to simply be just a technology unto itself. The packaging and the offering has to marry up as well. I think that’s where you’re seeing all brands do a much better job.”

While the conventional combustion engine will still be around for a long time to come, the 2020s is shaping up as a pivotal decade as electrification continues to re-balance the playing field.

“We’ve never seen so much change within the auto industry. I’m really looking forward to it. It doesn’t have to mean what we had before was bad, but it foreshadows an exciting future of individual mobility,” Lester observed.