Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. introduced two new electric vehicle models, betting that consumers will embrace the much-loved battery-powered line of small, affordable Japanese cars.
Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. have introduced two new mini electric vehicles, betting that consumers will embrace the much-loved battery-powered line of small, affordable Japanese cars.
Marking an important push into a less-served part of the electric vehicle market that could help drive wider adoption, the two automakers’ chiefs concluded the Nissan Sakura and the Mitsubishi eK X EVs on Fridays. Two small, boxy EVs will go on sale in Japan this summer with prices starting at under $15,000.
Small and affordable mini “kei” cars are popular means of transport in Japan, especially among workers and families living outside of large cities where roads are narrow and traffic sparse public. In 2020, they account for more than a third of new passenger car registrations in Japan.
“What Nissan and Mitsubishi are doing, this is the way it should be, when it comes to their car manufacturing alliance including Renault SA,” said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at automotive consulting firm Carnorama. and has become tense in recent years. “This technology will benefit the alliance.”
As the Japanese government pushes the country to reduce net emissions by 2050, the kei segment has been hailed as a particularly difficult segment to electrify. Industry officials have warned adding batteries to kei cars could push their prices out of reach of traditional buyers.
According to Miyao, the final cost of buying kei EVs will fall to less than 1.5 million yen ($11,700). The joint models of Nissan and Mitsubishi are quite close to each other. Once subsidized, both cars start at around 1.8 million yen. While that’s the expensive side for this category, Japanese automakers have pushed prices higher in recent years as they add more features and safety tech.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said at an event in Okayama, cars developed by the joint venture NMKV Co. “I hope more customers will be able to experience the benefits that electric vehicles can bring.”
Other automakers including Honda Motor Co. and Daihatsu Motor Co, a unit of Toyota Motor Corp., are planning to launch their own mini electric models within the next few years, which could accelerate the country’s relatively slow adoption of electric vehicles. Japan.
Nissan and Mitsubishi will be out the gate for the first time. Carnorama’s Miyao says the adoption of its kei EVs will give some indication of how other automakers will raise prices in the age of electric electric vehicles.
