After a long period of quiet, 2022 promises to be a year packed with activity on the Nissan front, because it isn’t just the Kicks B-segment crossover that was teased in Edaran Tan Chong Motor’s (ETCM) recent Chinese New Year greeting video – the coming year may also see the Nissan Ariya all-electric SUV making its way here.
The front end of the EV is shown at the ending of the video, suggesting that the model is on the cards for introduction sometime this year. That the Ariya is slated for the market isn’t surprising – in 2020, there had been unofficial intimation that there were plans to bring the car in, although pricing remained a point that needed to be worked on.
That it is now being hinted at broadly means that those challenges have been largely overcome, very likely due to the tax breaks for EVs announced by the government, which would now make it competitive. Pricing for standard models in Japan start at approximately five million yen (RM183,000), after available government subsidies, so this provides a good indicator of how local pricing could shape up.
The Ariya is the automaker’s first mass-market fully-electric model since the Leaf, and will go on sale in four variant forms, in 63 kWh and 87 kWh battery capacities, each in either front- or all-wheel drive guise.
With the 63 kWh pack, the single-motor variant makes 160 kW (215 hp) and 300 Nm of torque and delivers an estimated range of up to 450 km (WLTP cycle), with a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 7.5 seconds. The motor is boosted to 178 kW (239 hp) with the 87 kWh battery, but because of the additional weight incurred, it’s slightly slower to get to 100 km/h at 7.6 seconds. At 610 km, its range is the highest in the Ariya line-up.
As for the two-motor e-4ORCE AWD models, the 63 kWh model makes 250 kW (335 hp) and 560 Nm, reaches 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds and has an operating range of up to 430 km. The 87 kWh AWD model has 290 kW (388 hp) and 600 Nm, does the same sprint in 5.1 seconds and can travel up to 580 km on a single charge. In Japan, charging the Ariya via a 130 kW CHAdeMO fast charger provides 375 km of additional range in just 30 minutes.
The Ariya hasn’t made its way into the market yet – it was originally set to be introduced domestically in mid-2021, but the impact of Covid-19 and the semiconductor shortage has pushed back volume production to this year.
Keyword: 2022 Nissan Ariya EV teased in ETCM’s CNY video, hinting at a possible Malaysian introduction this year