Nissan Considers Bringing Its Unusual E-Power Technology to America

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The success of Nissan’s e-Power system in the Japanese-market Note hatchback has company brass considering a trans-Pacific trip for the technology.

Should it arrive stateside, e-Power stands to give Nissan an edge in low-priced electrification — potentially undercutting the price of compact hybrid rivals by thousands. Unlike conventional hybrids and plug-in models, Nissan’s system burns gasoline every moment of the drive, despite an electric motor doing all the pulling work.

The novel approach is similar to the Chevrolet Volt’s powertrain, minus the larger battery and plug-in capability. There’s no option of all-electric driving with this system. Instead, a 1.2-liter three-cylinder turns at an optimized 2,500 rpm to generate electricity for the electric motor, feeding a steady slow of it into a compact battery located under the front seats.

Shrinking the battery means lower production costs and a friendlier MSRP. In Japan, a Note (Versa Note in the U.S.) with e-Power retails for about $19,000.

“It is a technology that clearly can fit outside Japan in all the key markets,” Daniele Schillaci, Nissan’s executive vice president of global marketing and sales, told Automotive News at last month’s Shanghai auto show. “We are thinking about moving forward faster on electrification, not only in pure EVs, but also in this e-Power technology.”

The technology first went on sale in Japan last November. Already, the Note e-Power has overtaken the Toyota Prius in sales, providing motivation for the automaker to seek out new markets. While a U.S. introduction isn’t a sure bet, Nissan surely sees it as fertile ground. Not only would the unconventional hybrid battle the Prius, it also has the new Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid to contend with.

“When a technology is successful, it is natural for us to seek something a bit wider,” said Schillaci.

The Note e-Power doesn’t quite reach the lofty fuel economy figures of rival hybrids, though it does offer greatly improved mileage at a lower starting price. Considering the Versa’s U.S. sales remain in the six-figure range, fielding a less-expensive hybrid version with punchier power delivery — Nissan rates the Note e-Power at 187 lb-ft of torque — could prove worthwhile.

[Images: Nissan]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Shaker Shaker on May 15, 2017

    A 1.2 3-cylinder engine running constantly at 2500 RPM is probably going to produce around 40 HP (max, probably less). It will NOT be a quiet companion. The only advantage is that it will warm up and stay at a steady temperature.

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    • Shaker Shaker on May 15, 2017

      @bumpy ii In stop-and-go traffic, it would be an annoyance. My Volt has an 80 HP 1.4l that makes quite the racket on a depleted battery, flooring it while going up a steep hill - (probably hitting 4000RPM). Maybe if I ever break the engine in, it will smooth out a bit (I have the equivalent of 500 miles on it out of 5200 driven miles).

  • Sceptic Sceptic on May 15, 2017

    Prius is a technological marvel beautifully executed by Toyota. Reliable, fairly economical with high bling factor. But from the practical point of view Prius' hybrid drive is too complex and expensive. This system from Nissan is everyman's "hybrid". Expect these to sell for about $16000 in the US. This will be successful.

    • Kokomokid Kokomokid on Aug 30, 2017

      The Prius power train is very simple, mechanically, with a planetary gear set and some gear reduction, but no clutches, or friction elements of any kind. The electronics are fairly complex, but electronics have gotten cheap enough to be almost a non-issue. The Note E-Power would not sell for $16,000 if sold in the U.S. The cheapest regular Versa Note is $16,365 with "destination charge." That car has a CVT and A/C, but crank windows, and probably no cruise control. Anyway, I really hope they sell the E-Power Note in the U.S., so we can find out what gas mileage it actually gets, like in CR's test at a steady 65 mph.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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