Nissan Ariya faces delays, Aussie debut uncertain
COVID and the global semi-conductor shortage has delayed the launch of the highly-anticipated Nissan Ariya battery electric SUV.
Nissan has pushed back the roll-out several months to late 2021 in Japan, where it will debut.
It has also elected to start production with a limited edition version of its simplest model which contains the smallest number of computer chips per car.
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Chips are in global short supply because of huge increases in demand – and unprecedented demand for consumer electronics – at the same time as manufacturing sites were forced to shut because of COVID in 2020.
Locally, the Ariya is yet to be confirmed for sale, which means there’s no delay to its launch date because one doesn’t yet exist.
“Nissan Australia is very interested in Ariya and we continue to express that to the global product team,” a Nissan Australia spokesperson told EV Central.
“At this time, Ariya remains unconfirmed for Australia.”
The Ariya is especially important for Nissan because it is the Japanese company’s first new-generation battery electric vehicle (BEV), succeeding the stalwart Leaf.
Any delay is a blow as rival electrified SUVs from mainstream rivals come to market, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6 and the Toyota bZ4X.
Nissan has heavily promoted the vehicle since its mid-2020 reveal. Australian automotive media have been involved in global briefings for the vehicle, suggesting its chances of local launch are high.
Most recently, Nissan promoted the Ariya lapping the famed Monaco Formula One street circuit, which is now also used for electric Formula E racing.
Ariya reservations are expected to open in Europe, the USA and China later this year, with no deliveries before early 2022.
“One year ago, we made our announcement we were targeting the middle of this year [for Ariya launch], but after that, COVID-19 has lingered longer than we expected and there is the issue of semiconductor shortages,” Nissan’s global sales and marketing chief Asako Hoshino told Bloomberg.
The Ariya limited edition launching in Japan is offered with a 63kWh battery pack, a single 160kW/300Nm e-motor driving the front wheels and a 360km range. This reduces the number of chips required for the powertrain while allowing the complex features such as semi-autonomous ProPilot 2 and remote parking.
The Ariya model line-up will also eventually includes a larger 87kWh battery, a 178kW/300Nm e-motor and dual-motor all-wheel drive with up to 290kW and 600Nm. Claimed maximum WLTP range for Ariya will be as high as 500km in the extended range FWD model.
The Japanese limited edition has been price d at 6.6 million Yen, or nearly $78,000.
