Carlos Ghosn: Nissan EV Strategy Focus Shifting To Affordability Rather Than Range
Nissan’s strategy when it comes to the plug-in electric vehicle market will be based increasingly around affordability, rather than being focused on greatly improving range, company CEO Carlos Ghosn was recently quoted by the Nikkei as saying.
In other words, the company’s upcoming plug-in electric vehicle models (2019 Nissan Leaf, etc.) will possess range ratings high enough that the company considers the issue to be resolved for most buyers, while the key will then be bringing down prices.
The comments from the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance chairman were made during a media event in Hong Kong. So, unsurprisingly, they were largely in relation to the Chinese market, but with implications elsewhere.
Here’s more from the reporting in question: “Ghosn said the companies only recently determined that 300km was the key milestone, as car owners on average drive just around 50km a day. ‘You could not have guessed this (result) through studies,’ he said. ‘You had to have 500,000 (electric) cars on the ground to understand that consumers do not put autonomy on top of their concerns any more when you cross 300km.’
“For the Chinese market in particular, price is now the key issue, Ghosn said. ‘When you look what are the electric Chinese cars that are selling, they are very, very affordable cars,’ he said. ‘The price point of the Leaf today is not adequate for the Chinese market.'”
Those comments are of course in reference to the rather affordable models topping the recent sales report for the Chinese market, which we just published about. If Nissan intends to capture further market share in China, then lowering prices on its electric vehicle models would seem a good strategy.
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