Nissan Ariya electric SUV held up by production issues: report

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Issues on Nissan’s high-tech production line has led to the brand’s first all-electric SUV to fall behind on its production schedule. 

According to a Reuters report, production for the Ariya is running at least 33 percent behind where it should’ve been on Nissan’s roadmap. 

As the brand’s second mass-market EV behind the Leaf hatch, the Ariya was meant to bring Nissan back into the electric vehicle race and take back some of the sales that Tesla has run away with. 

First revealed in 2020, the Ariya is an electric midsize SUV that was set to take on the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6. It’s still very likely that these rivalries will happen, but Nissan’s slowed production rate is pulling the timeline out. 

Issues with automated factory slowing Ariya production

According to the Reuters source, Ariya production has fallen victim to issues relating to Nissan’s advanced production plant that uses a series of automated processes. 

Unlike normal factories, Nissan designed a system where a single production line was able to build ICE-powered, hybrid and electric vehicles. 

In reality, this system has become “an extremely, extremely high challenge” according to Nissan, with production being significantly slowed as a result. 

Along the same lines, a source revealed that a fire at Wuxi Welnew Micro-Electronic, in January, has led to a parts shortage that has also contributed to delays. 

It’s also worth noting that Nissan stopped taking Ariya orders in America and Japan last year, as demand had already outstripped planned production. 

When will the Ariya be coming to Australia? 

This is the million-dollar question for Nissan Australia, as the brand is yet to actually put a date on the electric SUV’s arrival. 

When speaking to Chasing Cars, Nissan Australia managing director Adam Paterson put the lack of an arrival date down to the absence of local C02 incentives. 

If Australia did publish a C02 target, Paterson said that the Australian market would be higher on Nissan’s priority list for the Ariya. 

Given this recent news of production delays, plus strong international demand and Nissan Global’s C02 rules, it’s likely that an Australian launch of the Ariya is still a fair way off.