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

• The Nissan Sakura is an all-electric Kei automobile.
• It is simply 11 toes lengthy and weighs underneath 2,400 lbs, with a beginning value of round $15,000.
• The Sakura has develop into 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 superb to see small vehicles profitable. The previous twenty years have seen People fully scorn something small, low cost and easy, transferring in the 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 totally different. The perfect-selling EV is a $15,000 metropolis automobile from Nissan.

The Nissan Sakura is a “Kei” car, 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 toes, 2 inches. So the Sakura is about 11 toes lengthy, 4.8 toes large and 5.4 toes tall. 

It weighs just below 2,400 lbs, with a 20.0-kWh battery that permits 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 could 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 be tremendous nimble and tremendous low cost. Its turning circle is simply 15 toes, 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 coloration schemes, with two-tone choices that add some spunk. It appears to be like cheerful and enjoyable, and Japanese patrons do not appear to look down on small vehicles the way in which People 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 bought 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 sturdy.  

Reid argues that the Sakura might 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 broaden it for now. It is no shock that it will not come to the U.S. Tiny, 63-hp Kei vehicles should not nice for America’s highway-heavy infrastructure, and vehicles with underneath 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 correct that there is a actual alternative for Nissan to win over some patrons 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 obtained a winner in its hand, now it simply must double down.

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