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

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

There is a motive Individuals appear more and more fascinated with Japanese Kei automobiles: It is superb to see small vehicles profitable. The previous 20 years have seen Individuals utterly scorn something small, low cost and easy, shifting 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 completely 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 automobiles that meet strict dimension, energy and engine displacement guidelines. Meaning its energy is capped—like all Kei automobiles—at 63 hp, and size is capped at 11 toes, 2 inches. So the Sakura is about 11 toes lengthy, 4.8 toes vast and 5.4 toes tall. 

It weighs just below 2,400 lbs, with a 20.0-kWh battery that enables it to go 111 miles on a cost. Be aware that is a WLTP determine, which tends to be much more beneficiant than the EPA cycle used within the U.S. It might probably 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. 

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The Sakura can also be tremendous nimble and tremendous low cost. Its turning circle is simply 15 toes, and costs begin round $15,000 at present change charges, with well-optioned examples near $20,000. You will get it in 15 completely different colour schemes, with two-tone choices that add some spunk. It seems cheerful and enjoyable, and Japanese patrons 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 favored it when he drove it again in 2023, and a new video from AutoTrader U.Okay. 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 12 months, 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.Okay. or Europe, however that dialog is only 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 below 100 miles of EPA vary have sometimes 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 patrons there. It is unlikely to be the form 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 obtained a winner in its hand, now it simply must double down.

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