Nissan Hangout & Nissan Surfout Electric truck/crossover arrive after 2025

Nissan held its Nissan Ambition 2030 conference today, where it announced plans to accelerate its electrification strategy and showcased three concept EVs: The Nissan Hangout SUV, Nissan Surfout pickup truck, and the Nissan Maxout convertible sportscar.

Nissan will invest 2 trillion yen (USD 17.6 billion) over the next five years and aim for a 50 percent electrification mix by the fiscal year 2030 globally (Nissan and Infiniti combined). Towards this goal, the carmaker announced that it will launch 23 new electrified models, including 15 new EVs and its proprietary all-solid-state batteries (ASSB), by the fiscal year 2028.

Source: Youtube/Nissan

Nissan ASSB (All-Solid-State Batteries)

The second half of this decade will be important for Nissan as it gears up to launch its own solid state battery. The advantages of the solid state battery over the current lithium-ion include its higher energy density, quicker charging technologies, a more compact size, and the ability to be integrated as a platform/chassis itself. It is considered safer than the current Lithium-ion packs due to the absence of a liquid electrolyte.

Nissan solid state battery
Nissan’s upcoming solid state technology will reduce battery prices to USD 65 per kWh eventually. Image: Nissan

Towards this goal, Nissan will build a pilot plant in Yokohama, Japan, in the fiscal year 2024 and have a prototype full-size cell ready in the same year. From 2024 through 2028, Nissan expects to further test and optimize everything about the ASSB (from the technologies it can offer to the production of the cell itself) and launch it in the second half of the decade.

The Nissan ASSB will reduce charging time to one-third of what a lithium-ion battery currently offers and bring down the cost of the battery to achieve cost parity with a gasoline vehicle. Nissan’s estimate is USD 75 per kWh by 2028 and USD 65 per kWh beyond that (according to a Bloomberg report, electric car batteries currently hover around USD 137 per kWh).

Nissan plans on achieving economies of scale by having a global battery supply system. The company said it will work with partners to increase global production capacity to 52 GWh by the fiscal year 2026 and 130 GWh by the fiscal year 2030.

Nissan Hangout electric SUV concept

Nissan Hangout concept
Nissan will include next-gen LiDARs on every new model from 2030, so products like the Nissan Hangout are expected to offer the full autonomous capability. Image: Nissan

The Nissan Hangout concept aims to provide a “new way of spending time on the move.” The ‘Multi Sport Utility vehicle’ features a completely flat floor with a ‘lounge like’ seating and is designed to suppress vibrations and jolts, which could encourage its users to work on the go, Nissan said. While Nissan has not given further details, it is safe to assume that the Nissan Hangout is aimed towards full autonomous capability. Nissan said it will work on its ProPILOT technology to roll it out to over 2.5 million Nissan and Infiniti vehicles by the fiscal year 2026 and incorporate next-generation LiDAR systems on every new model by the fiscal year 2030.

The Nissan Hangout’s flat floor would be courtesy of a platform integrated with the ASSB system, and we could see range estimates exceeding the 500 km (310 miles) mark as Nissan is targeting this figure even on its CMF-EV platform Ariya with less-efficient (compared to solid state) lithium-ion batteries.

Nissan electric truck concept ‘Surfout’

With the ASSB architecture providing platform flexibility, Nissan said it could explore new segments, such as the electric pickup segment, which is proving to be popular in the United States with over a million reservations estimated for the Tesla Cybertruck. The Nissan Surfout electric pickup should mirror the Hangout on specifications but comes with a few features and strengthened aggregates tailored for adventurers.

Nissan Surfout truck bed
The electric pickup segment is poised for significant volumes in the United States this decade, and Nissan would do well to offer a product like the Surfout in this segment. Image: Nissan

The Surfout will have low and flat cargo space and will offer all-terrain capability. The Surfout can also be used as a remote power grid to power electrical items at remote locations. The futuristic concept is seen in a single cab layout (though production variants could see a multitude of setups from single and dual cab layouts to extended loading beds, too possibly) with a transparent front fascia. At the same time, the rear truck appears to sport a full digital panel where drivers can display customized messages or images.

The production version of the Nissan Hangout and the Nissan Surfout should be seen in the second half of the decade, with platform and capability far superior to the Leaf and Ariya.

Featured Image of the Nissan Surfout courtesy of Nissan