After surprising the new Ariya with features and performance, during the press launch (you can see our opinion below), Nissan immediately launched a second surprise, this time related to production volume. Limited to only 400 units per day, which equates to 100,000 vehicles/yearThis electric SUV was condemned to be produced well below what was expected and necessary to supply the global market. And, as if that were not enough, it had to face a series of internal difficulties that further reduced the number of Ariyas manufactured, which was reduced to less than 1/3 of what was anticipated.
We drive the Ariya, Nissan’s electric SUV with up to 306 hp and 533 km of autonomy
One of the explanations for the fact that only 100,000 units are produced per year, even more by a manufacturer that was the first to manufacture an electric vehicle in large series (the first generation of the Leaf, in 2010), is probably due to the fact that all Ariya are produced in Japan and then exported to major marketsnamely Europe, the United States and China.
To give you an idea of where the competition is, Tesla manufactured 1,298,611 Model 3 and Model Y units, of which 758,792 referred to the American manufacturer’s SUVs. Even Volkswagen, which offers three models in the same segment, from the ID.3 to the ID.4, through the ID.5, produced in 2022 more than 170,000 units of the ID.4, the proposal most similar to the Ariya. from the German manufacturer value that doubles if we add the three DNI models.
According to Reuters, Nissan “ran aground” on several problems, from the lack of chips to the absence of other components necessary to assemble the Ariya, also going through problems with the paint line at the Japanese plant in Tochigi, near Tokyo. As an aggravating factor, the Japanese electric SUV made headlines again when Nissan was forced to recall 1,063 units of the Ariya from the workshop, since the steering wheel could not be fixed correctly. See below how the Ariya factory works:
These difficulties with the Ariya come at the worst time, precisely when Nissan needed to feed the market with a modern electric vehicle in the form of an SUV, the preferred solution for most customers. After 12 years living exclusively at the expense of the Leaf, which, like the Renault Zoe, proved incapable of standing up to more modern competitors, the Ariya represents the opportunity for the Japanese manufacturer to once again occupy a prominent position among battery manufacturers. . -vehicles only. But production difficulties could limit Ariya’s business careerat a time when the brand intends to launch another 18 electric vehicles by 2030, which means bringing more than two new products to the market per year.
Source: Observadora
