Nissan to invest $17.6B on battery-powered vehicles over the next five years

Nissan to invest 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) over the next five years to develop new electric vehicles (EVs) and battery technology as part of the company’s “Ambition 2030.”

As a part of its “Ambition 2030” grand plan, the Japanese automaker aims to release 15 new EVs in total by 2030, aiming to have EVs make up nearly half of its lineup at that point.

The company hopes to regain a degree of its prominence in the EV race after its pioneering introduction of the Leaf EV almost a decade ago. Investors have boosted the share prices of carmakers betting big on EV’s, including newcomers such as Tesla and Rev, and industry stalwarts like Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. The planned investment for the next five years is twice what the company has spent on EVs since 2010.

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said he wants Nissan to lead as cars shift from gasoline-powered internal combustion engines to electric power. However, he was cautious about setting sale targets for EVs. Under former CEO and internationally wanted fugitive Carlos Ghosn, Nissan, and partner Renault SA had promised to sell 1.5 million EVs by 2016, a target they failed by a wide margin.