The Federal Government’s commitment to introduce a ‘New Vehicle Efficiency Standard’ (NVES) from the beginning of 2025 has generated a lot of heat in the Australian new-car business.
Proponents of the new legislation, which passed into law this month, hail it as an important driver in a transition to cleaner, more efficient vehicles, while others fear the likely disappearance of multiple diesel and petrol internal-combustion (ICE) models, mainly SUVs and utes, due to their drag on an individual brand’s fleet average (CO2 grams per kilometre) emissions performance.
Carmakers across the market have spoken publicly about the likely impact the NVES will have on their local line-ups with senior industry sources privately sharing their contention with CarsGuide that some well-known brands will almost certainly quit the market altogether.
But despite this legislation having been on the federal agenda for close to 15 years with similar controls well established in almost all of the world’s (other) advanced economies, Nissan says it was surprised by this January’s Australian NVES announcement.
When asked if the NVES will mean more electrified Nissan models in the Australian market, François Bailly, Nissan’s Senior Vice President, Chief Planning Officer AMIEO Region (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe & Oceania) said, “The answer is yes. The question is the transition. Really, it caught us by surprise.
“We owe our customers safe, affordable and clean cars. So, the long-term is fully aligned. That’s why we launched the Leaf (in Australia) as a mass-market EV in 2010. There’s no debate on that,” he said.
But Mr Bailly suggests the Federal Government should think about sweetening the deal via some latitude on homologation timing and/or incentive support (as Mr Bailly sees it) to benefit consumers.
Nissan Hyper Tourer concept
“When you look at CAFE emission in Europe, it took six years. In Australia it’s much faster and when you put that time period against the 45-week (new model) homologation process it’s really challenging.
“So, the road to get there is where we would like some help. To help us. Is it a supply problem or just demand?
“Is your federal or state government helping the customers? Otherwise at the end you’re just reducing the offer to your customer and it would hurt your customer.
Nissan Hyper Adventure concept
“It’s a bit of a challenge on the timeline and also from helping the demand with incentive programs like you see around the world,” he added.
Under the NVES regime car brands will be penalised financially for exceeding the scheme’s average ‘grams of CO2 per kilometre’ scale and credited for vehicles sold that come in under target.
Targets will be lowered incrementally over time to push brands to sell more and more efficient vehicles, with credits accruing and able to be traded to reach CO2 limits.
Nissan says by 2030 all its new models sold in Europe will be EV
Despite his call for concessions, Mr Bailly is right when he says Nissan’s ‘long-term is fully aligned’ with the NVES, confirming that in “2030 all new Nissan models sold in Europe will be EV”.
“We have something unique (with e-Power hybrid) and we want to build on it. We are investing in full EV, but at the same time we continue to reinforce e-Power, especially in the short term,” he said.
Nissan says globally, in the 2026 financial year, its powertrain mix will be 60 per cent ICE, 20 per cent hybrid/PHEV and 20 per cent EV, with those ratios in Europe-only shifting to 25, 32 and 43 per cent, respectively.