Nissan Brings Spain-Built e-NV200 to Japanese Market

OPPAMA, Japan – Nissan launches the all-electric version of its NV200 midsize van in the Japanese market as executives express optimism about sales, even though manufacturing will be based at the automaker’s Barcelona, Spain, plant.

Nissan’s aim is to bring production close to the large European market, but Takao Katagiri, the company's executive vice president, has said he is confident the e-NV200 will command niche sales in Japan.

“We are aiming to provide new value to our customers and, at the same time, to realize zero-emission mobility,” he says during the launch event at the automaker’s Oppama plant, south of Tokyo.

Katagiri’s optimism is based on local sales of its all-electric Leaf; Nissan has delivered more than 142,000 of the EVs since its introduction in December 2010. “Sales are robust and we believe there is an increasingly favorable environment for electric vehicles now,” he says.

As consumer attitudes change, the e-NV200 will benefit from the ground broken by the Leaf, Katagiri believes.

The majority of worries have been expressed over range: according to the Japanese JC08 homologation, the Leaf’s maximum range is 141 miles (228 km), while the e-NV200’s is 19% less at 118 miles (190 km).

Katagiri stresses, however, that a network of about 2,100 double-speed chargers and 1,300 quick chargers has been installed at Nissan dealers across Japan. The network is growing steadily as Japan’s four major automakers work to have 6,000 quick chargers available by 2015.

Hideyuki Komatsu, marketing manager for the e-NV200 in Japan, believes commercial fleet operators and small and medium-size enterprises soon will catch on to its advantages.

“The initial purchase price is still relatively high, but we have to weigh the fact that (gasoline) prices are going to continue to rise,” he tells WardsAuto. “We estimate that EVs will work out cheaper over the lifetime of a vehicle that travels 50,950 miles (82,000 km) within five years.” Nissan said in June that e-NV200 prices would range from ¥3.9 million ($33,800) to ¥4.8 million ($41,800), including consumption tax.

Pre-release market research suggests an initial 20% of the target customer base for the vehicle, which is based on the conventional NV200, expressed keen interest in purchasing the e-NV200.

“That 20% coincides with the usual amount of people who are termed early adopters of new technology,” Komatsu says. Another 20% are followers, who then are mimicked by the mass market and, finally, the late adopters.

Right now, he says, the aim is to capture the domestic early adopters and hope word of mouth and experience will persuade others to buy. The automaker has tried to further boost demand with enhancements such as a mobile battery with a power-plug discharge system that can be used outside the vehicle.

Katagiri says Nissan has set a domestic monthly target of 500 sales, with corporate-fleet purchases initially expected to account for about 60% of deliveries. Over time, an increasing number of small companies and self-employed individuals are expected to upgrade their work vehicles, and Nissan hopes they will go electric.

Production will remain in Spain for now, Katagiri says: “Currently, our production is focused on our Barcelona plant and we have no plans at the moment to expand that to our other facilities around the world. If sales volume increased dramatically, however, then we would be flexible enough to consider expanding production elsewhere.”

The e-NV200 already has had sales success in locations such as Barcelona, whose taxi fleet includes the EV. Companies across Europe and North America are testing the vehicle, Nissan says.

Katigiri says Nissan’s goals underpinning the launch are zero emissions and zero fatalities.

“The aim is to achieve zero emissions across our vehicles, and we believe that our customers have seen that and have responded positively to that ambition,” he says. “Now we want to respond to that momentum, to build on our global leadership in this sector and, in the future, expand on our lineup of electric vehicles.

“The e-NV200 is only our second all-electric model and we can now look forward to the future.”