Nissan’s Hotly Anticipated Hybrids Will Now Likely Cost More

Earlier this year, Nissan finally confirmed that the third generation of its globally-popular e-Power hybrid setup would come to the U.S. in the form of the upcoming 2026 Nissan Rogue SUV. Nissan has sold over a million of its previous-generation e-Power models in other markets like Japan and Europe, but its latest tech is the most efficient yet. Nissan execs previously claimed the technology would be developed to the point of price parity with a more traditional setup, but they are now walking back that promise.

Planned Third-Gen Nissan e-Power Rollout

Nissan is said to have been developing this overhauled third-generation e-Power system for the past five years, this time with the US market in mind, along with everybody else. Still, it will debut first this year in Europe’s Qashqai, and then in a van for Japan, before finally coming to America by the end of the fiscal year in March 2027, so likely as a 2026 model year of the fourth-gen Nissan Rogue.

However, Nissan has now confirmed that its initial cost projection has shifted, and it will cost Nissan more than it anticipated to produce the new third-generation e-Power models.

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The new hybrid e-Power 2026 Nissan Rogue will still face a price gap with cheaper all-gasoline variants, Nissan CTO Eiichi Akashi has confirmed. The rising material cost of hybrid-electric components like batteries and motors was cited as the cause for the disparity in pricing. The 2025 Nissan Rogue currently starts at just a hair under $30,000 after factoring in destination charges, and is not yet offered with a hybrid at all, with hybrids otherwise growing in popularity.

Nissan is missing out, and it looks like it’s going to be another year before it catches up.

The New System Offers Notable Increases In Efficiency

The third-gen e-Power setup features a carry-over variable compression 1.5-liter three-cylinder gas engine with a now-larger turbocharger than before, as well as a new all-in-one component module, improving city efficiency by 9 percent and highway efficiency by 15 percent compared to the second-gen setup.

The system works by keeping a 1.8 kWh battery pack juiced up by the gas engine, with the battery powering either one or two electric motors, which turn the wheels, the latter adding all-wheel drive capability. The claimed benefits are more efficient combustion in the gas unit, with the same maintenance required as a regular vehicle, considering the electric components don’t need regular servicing, and the added benefit of near-immediate electric torque.

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A 2025 Rogue PHEV was once expected but has yet to be announced. The Rogue nameplate is Nissan’s bestseller in the US, and ranks at number 9 on the overall sales chart in the US amid some stiff competition. Our first drive of a similar Nissan Qashqai prototype with the third-gen e-Power tech proved promising, with us reporting that it mostly drove and rode like an all-electric model, with Nissan vastly improving the NVH over the second-gen system.

Source: Automotive News