This $15,000 Nissan Kei Automobile 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 change into Japan’s best-selling EV, however Nissan is not promoting it wherever else… but.

There is a cause Individuals appear more and more fascinated with Japanese Kei autos: It is superb to see small vehicles profitable. The previous 20 years have seen Individuals 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. One in every of them begins at $80,000. In Japan, issues are completely different. The perfect-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. Meaning 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 vast and 5.4 ft tall. 

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

26

The Sakura can 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 will get it in 15 completely different coloration schemes, with two-tone choices that add some spunk. It seems to be cheerful and enjoyable, and Japanese consumers do not appear to look down on small vehicles the way in which Individuals do. 

That is made the Sakura a profitable proposition. Our reviewer appreciated 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 surprise Nissan offered 37,140 of them in Japan final yr, per Wards Auto, accounting for almost 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 robust.  

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 develop it for now. It is no shock that it will not come to the U.S. Tiny, 63-hp Kei vehicles are usually not nice for America’s highway-heavy infrastructure, and vehicles with beneath 100 miles of EPA vary have usually faired poorly right here. Plus, even the 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 true that there is a actual alternative for Nissan to win over some consumers there. It is unlikely to be the type 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 received a winner in its hand, now it simply must double down.

Contact the writer: [email protected].