This $15,000 Nissan Kei Automotive Is Japan’s Greatest-Promoting EV

• The Nissan Sakura is an all-electric Kei automotive.
• It is simply 11 ft lengthy and weighs beneath 2,400 lbs, with a beginning value of round $15,000.
• The Sakura has turn out to be Japan’s best-selling EV, however Nissan is not promoting it anyplace else… but.

There is a motive People appear more and more fascinated with Japanese Kei autos: It is wonderful to see small vehicles successful. The previous twenty years have seen People fully scorn something small, low cost and easy, transferring in direction of ever-bigger, ever-more “premium” choices. That is why our three best-selling EVs are all made by Tesla, a premium model that claims to be an AI firm first. Considered one of them begins at $80,000. In Japan, issues are totally different. One of the best-selling EV is a $15,000 metropolis automotive from Nissan.

The Nissan Sakura is a “Kei” automobile, a Japanese designation for autos that meet strict dimension, energy and engine displacement guidelines. Which means its energy is capped—like all Kei autos—at 63 hp, and size is capped at 11 ft, 2 inches. So the Sakura is about 11 ft lengthy, 4.8 ft broad and 5.4 ft tall. 

It weighs just below 2,400 lbs, with a 20.0-kWh battery that enables it to go 111 miles on a cost. Observe that is a WLTP determine, which tends to be much more beneficiant than the EPA cycle used within the U.S. It may possibly cost from 10-80% in about 20 minutes, although, so you may replenish vary rapidly. There’s even vehicle-to-load performance for powering exterior electronics. 

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The Sakura can also be tremendous nimble and tremendous low cost. Its turning circle is simply 15 ft, and costs begin round $15,000 at present trade charges, with well-optioned examples near $20,000. You may get it in 15 totally different shade schemes, with two-tone choices that add some spunk. It seems cheerful and enjoyable, and Japanese consumers do not appear to look down on small vehicles the way in which People do. 

That is made the Sakura a successful proposition. Our reviewer preferred it when he drove it again in 2023, and a new video from AutoTrader U.Ok. appears to agree. Host Rory Reid—previously of High Gear fame—calls it “pleasant.” No marvel Nissan bought 37,140 of them in Japan final 12 months, per Wards Auto, accounting for practically half of all EV gross sales within the nation. The corporate needed to cease taking orders at one level as a result of demand was so sturdy.  

Reid argues that the Sakura may win some hearts and minds within the U.Ok. or Europe, however that dialog is solely theoretical. Nissan solely sells the Sakura in Japan, and has no plans to increase it for now. It is no shock that it will not come to the U.S. Tiny, 63-hp Kei vehicles aren’t nice for America’s highway-heavy infrastructure, and vehicles with beneath 100 miles of EPA vary have usually faired poorly right here. Plus, even town vehicles higher suited to American highways—together with the Honda Match, Mitsubishi Mirage and Ford Fiesta—have all been killed off right here.

We do not deserve the Sakura. However Europe does. Reid is correct that there is a actual alternative for Nissan to win over some consumers there. It is unlikely to be the kind of smashing success it’s in Japan, however Europe has a notable urge for food for metropolis vehicles, and Nissan has a notable dearth of thrilling merchandise. It is lastly bought a winner in its hand, now it simply must double down.

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