Nissan ARIYA Gets Big Price Cut — Competitive With Tesla Model Y Now?

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The Nissan ARIYA, Nissan’s fully electric crossover, just got its base price slashed by about $3,600 today. Some higher-end versions of the ARIYA got their MSRP absolutely shredded, by as much as $6,000.

The base MSRP for the ARIYA is now $39,590. That base trim has a range rating of 216 miles, more than enough for many of us and far beyond the days of the early Nissan LEAFs. If you want an ARIYA with a larger battery and more range, you can get a slightly more expensive trim with up to 289 or 304 miles of range on a full charge. Pricing varies quite a lot across trims, from $41,190 to $54,190. Here’s the whole breakdown with the updates:

But what does all of that mean? For comparison, let’s take a look at the most popular electric vehicle on the planet — sorry, the most popular vehicle model of any kind on the planet. The base Tesla Model Y starts at $43,990 stateside. That provides a rated range of 260 miles on a full charge. For a longe-range version, you can start out at $48,990 or $52,149, getting 285 miles or 310 miles of range, respectively.

So, overall, if you don’t need more than 216 miles of range, a $39,590 electric crossover from Nissan is a great buy that is well below the lowest-cost Model Y! If you want to go up 44 miles for a base of $43,990, you can hop over to the Model Y. Also, importantly, note that the US EV tax credit is available for the Model Y and can effectively bring that price down to $36,490 — while the ARIYA isn’t currently eligible for the consumer tax credit. Or you can pay a similar amount for an ARIYA with about the same range as one of those higher-spec Teslas. (Note that you can take advantage of the EV tax credit if you lease the vehicle. See dealer for details.)

In general, the ARIYA is now neck and neck with the Tesla Model Y in the USA if we look solely at pricing and range. Of course, there are some other reasons to buy one or the other, but the key is that the core considerations for many are now so close that you can say the ARIYA is genuinely competitive with the Model Y.

“As the electric vehicle market continues to develop and grow, the revised pricing for the 2024 Ariya will improve the model’s competitiveness and ensure we are delivering maximum value to our customers,” says Trisha Jung, Senior Director of EV Strategy and Transformation at Nissan US. Indeed.

The flip side of the range topic is charging, and while that is one area where the ARIYA was easily beaten by the Model Y not long ago, Nissan ARIYA drivers will be getting a big boost this year. Nissan is going to provide an adapter for ARIYA drivers to use Tesla Superchargers (Version 3 and Version 4). That nearly nullifies any charging advantage for a Tesla. (Though, Tesla drivers do get a lower price on Supercharging, and they can use Version 1 and Version 2 Superchargers as well as Tesla Destination chargers.)

Then there’s infotainment, interior space and design, and the look of the car. To compare all of those matters properly, you should head to a local Nissan dealer and a Tesla showroom and test drive both the ARIYA and the Model Y. That’s the only way to truly determine which vehicle feels better to you, looks better to you, and you’d prefer owning.

Not many people have seen the ARIYA as truly being a competitive option on the electric car market, but with these significant price cuts, the ARIYA suddenly becomes an electric car that is more or less competitive with the extremely popular Tesla Model Y, the most popular electric car in the US and the world. Kudos to Nissan for making the improvements and cutting vehicle costs so much.

Learn more about the ARIYA or Model Y via those company links. But really, just go book a couple of test drives!