According to Japanese media reports, in the previous merger negotiations between Honda and Nissan, although Honda's request to acquire Nissan as its subsidiary was a key reason for the potential failure of the merger plan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Honda had also requested Nissan to abandon its e-Power series hybrid technology and adopt Honda's hybrid technology, which was also difficult for Nissan to accept.

Nissan is ahead of its Japanese competitors Toyota and Honda in the field of electric vehicles. As early as 2010, it launched the pure electric model Nissan Leaf, which was the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle. But in terms of hybrid vehicles, Nissan lags behind two Japanese competitors.
A senior Honda official revealed to the Yomiuri Shimbun, "In terms of hybrid cars, we are clearly slightly better than Nissan." However, a source familiar with the matter said that Nissan's R&D executives cannot accept Honda's request to abandon a proprietary technology that Nissan has invested over $2 billion in, and pointed out, "This is a conflict of self-esteem

Nissan's e-Power hybrid technology is a core pillar of the company's electrification strategy. This series hybrid system was launched in Japan at the end of 2016, using a battery powered electric motor to drive the vehicle and a gasoline engine to charge the battery.

Although Nissan has adopted e-Power technology in several models sold in Europe and Asia, it has not introduced the technology to the US market because e-Power has low fuel efficiency at high speeds, making it less practical in the US. This technology is suitable for small vehicles, but at the same time, its high cost makes it less suitable for lower priced models. Industry insiders say that e-Power is specifically developed for the Japanese market, where people mainly drive in stop and go traffic conditions. Japan doesn't have high-speed driving, so if you can drive at a speed of 60 miles per hour, it's already considered very fast

However, Nissan stated that these issues have been resolved through the third-generation e-Power technology. The latest system will make its debut in the United States in early 2027 with the next-generation Rogue compact SUV, which has higher fuel efficiency at high speeds.

If this technology is applied to Nissan's best-selling models in the United States, it will also help Nissan share research and development costs through greater sales, thereby reducing costs.

In Nissan's largest market, the United States, Nissan is the largest automaker that has not yet launched mild hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

According to data from S&P Global Mobility, the combined proportion of registered hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the United States exceeded 12% in 2024, up from 9.4% the previous year.