Nissan appears to be scrapping plans to go all-electric with its new-generation Skyline in favour of a 300kW petrol V6 as part of an all-out bid for survival.
According to a report from Japanese outlet Best Car Web, Nissan is no longer expected to launch its upcoming 14th generation Skyline sedan with a battery electric powertrain as expected, and instead it will opt for a powerful combustion engine.
The report follows Nissan’s president Ivan Espinosa’s announcement in May, 2025, that the company would undergo massive restructuring that would see the number of vehicle platforms reduced from 13 to 7, and 17 factories cut to 10 by 2027. Espinosa also said Nissan’s workforce would be slashed by 20,000.
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Nissan’s next-gen Skyline also appears to have been caught up in the company’s mission to save money but also to revamp its image.
In the May announcement Espinosa not only confirmed the existence of the new-gen Skyline but that it would be part of a new and faster production process.
“The company will advance its efforts to significantly shorten the development lead time of the first vehicle to 37 months and subsequent family vehicles to 30 months, ” the statement read.
“Models developed under this process include the all-new Nissan Skyline, the all-new global C SUV, and the all-new INFINITI compact SUV.”
Espinosa has often been touted as “Nissan’s biggest car guy” and is said to be personally attached to the idea of a revived Skyline. The decision to choose a combustion engine over an electric motor is thought to be based on his car enthusiast roots along with the global slump in EV demand and the United State’s changed policy towards electric vehicles.
Just to be clear, however, the new-gen Skyline is not Nissan’s GT-R Godzilla. In 2007 the Skyline and GT-R became two separate models. The GT-R R35 was Nissan’s recently-discontinued halo model, with a new-gen R36 said to be in the works.
The Skyline was rebadged as an Infiniti Q50 in the US and Australia. The Q50 was discontinued in Australia following Infiniti brand’s decision to exit our market in 2020.
But wait, the story doesn’t end here. In August motoring industry publication Automotive News reported that Nissan’s new-generation Infiniti Q50 was revealed to car dealers.
Infiniti hasn’t revealed the specification of the new-generation Q50 shown to dealers, but it is expected to be powered by the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 found in the current Nissan Z sports car which makes 298kW and 475Nm.
The new Q50 is also expected to be offered with the Z’s six-speed manual gearbox and also be rear-wheel drive.
With Q50 being the Skyline’s twin it seems certain then that the new-gen Skyline will arrive with the same drivetrain. But when?
Well, Infiniti says the new-gen Q50 will land in the US in 2027, and if that’s the case then we should see the Nissan Skyline around the same time, if not sooner than its twin.
