Nissan is reportedly preparing a new small electric car. For the Nissan electric car project, the company is partnering with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, which is now part of the NMKV. Even Nissan has scheduled its newest EV to be released next year.
For information, NMKV Co. Ltd. is a 50-50 joint venture between Nissan and Mitsubishi. Its purpose is product planning and marketing management for the Japanese market. From this joint venture company, both of them are determined to get more serious into the small vehicle segment or what in Sakura Country is called the Kei Car.
The main goal of the collaboration between Nissan and Mitsubishi is to re-popularize the Kei Car as a unique car in Japan. This vehicle must embodies the definition of driving efficiency, driving pleasure, and practicality. But now the company has also added one more factor, namely a quiet cabin as the main characteristic of electric vehicles (EV).
Mandatory Flexible for Various Needs
Nissan has special standards when designing its tiny electric car. The car must have a minimum battery capacity of 20 kWh which is considered sufficient for daily needs in urban areas.
Then this Nissan electric car must also be flexible in terms of charging the battery. Not only do you rely on fast charging sockets provided at public charging locations, but it also doesn't take long to charge at home.
And finally, the EV electric battery must be used at any time as a power source in an emergency. This may be considering the factor that Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes, so that it sometimes disrupts the supply of electricity to residents' homes.
Smaller than the Nissan Leaf
This Nissan electric car will have a smaller size than the Leaf which was recently released in Indonesia. It is only 3,395 mm long, 1,475 mm wide and 1,655 mm high. When compared to the Nissan Leaf 2021, this latest electric car is 1,085 mm shorter, 315 mm slimmer, but 115 mm taller.
Nissan has also promised that this car is designed to provide an easy ride. Especially when dealing with road conditions in big cities which are more often congested during rush hour.
There are no detailed technical specifications for this Nissan electric Kei Car. However, it is estimated that the price starts from around 2 million Yen or approximately IDR 259 million. Of course, this price tag has been deducted from the tax incentives for zero emission vehicles that apply in Japan.
If you look at this price benchmark, it is very close to the price of the Nissan Note e-Power 2021 which was released late last year in Japan. Because the Note e-Power costs IDR 260 million to IDR 280 million.
Since 2010, Nissan has been aggressively marketing vehicles without exhaust emissions since the introduction of the Leaf. And now the electric car has sold more than 500 thousand units worldwide. Even the Nissan Leaf has explored the EV market in Indonesia, which so far has only been filled with the Hyundai Ioniq and Kona electric.
Will the latest tiny electric car also enter Indonesia? We hope so. The reason is that Nissan is also known to be preparing the Note e-Power to accompany the Leaf in the domestic market. Especially if it turns out that Mitsubishi is also doing the same thing, surely the BEV segment will be even more crowded.
