​Nissan will only launch new cars in Europe  that are purely electric, it has announced, as its chief declares the world has to ‘move on’ from cars with engines.

The Japanese carmaker has confirmed it’s ramping up the launch of new electric cars and will only launch EVs from now onwards.

Speaking at the reveal of the Nissan 20-23 concept car in Paddington, central London, Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida said: "From this point onwards, everything single Nissan model launched in Europe will be fully electric. In 2030, Nissan will be here and ready for EV."

The Nissan boss disregarded the UK government’s recent decision to delay the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, saying it’s time to “move on” from ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. 

He said: "There's no going back – the world needs to move on from ICEs (Internal Combustion Engines."

He added: "It is the right thing to do. "As battery technology evolves, we are working to achieve price parity with ICEs, because when it comes to the planet, we have a responsibility to be a part of the solution and as part of an ecosystem involving renewable, grid integration and battery storage. EVs are the ultimate solution for future mobility."

Uchida called on more carmakers to work together to develop the take-up of EVs by consumers, and pointed to Nissan’s £1bn investment in upgrading its battery gigafactory in Sunderland as a sign of how serious the car manufacturer is about electric cars. 

"We are all in but we need everyone on board," he said. "We are not the only OEM who will be ready in 2030, but if we all work together we will solve the current challenges and make way for a sustainable future."

Nissan has already confirmed that the Sunderland factory will build a crossover replacement for the Leaf electric hatchback. Uchida's latest words, however, confirms future generations of Nissan's best-selling crossovers, Qashqai and Juke, will also be pure-electric.  

All new Nissans will be electric only, says boss