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The compact electric SUV has an estimated range of 300 miles, but it won’t be eligible for the $7,500 tax credit until it’s manufactured in North America.
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The 2023 Nissan Ariya will start at $44,485 when it goes on sale in the late fall, the automaker announced. That’s about $3,000 cheaper than the starting price announced by Nissan almost a year ago.
The base model Ariya, which will have front-wheel drive and a 63 kWh battery pack, will start at $43,190. With a $1,295 destination charge, that price increases to $44,485.
The Ariya, which was first announced in summer 2020, was expected to go on sale in Japan in the middle of 2021, followed by the US and Canada later in the year. But that’s been delayed, with North American customers not expected to receive deliveries until later this year.
Only front-wheel driver versions of the Ariya will be available to start out, with other versions to follow. The Ariya with FWD includes a standard range battery pack with 63 kWh capacity and a longer range pack with 87 kWh with up to 304 miles of range and an output of 214-389 horsepower.
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Online reservations are currently closed, but customers can place orders through their local dealership or wait until the vehicle arrives in showrooms later this year, a Nissan spokesperson said.
The Ariya is not manufactured in North America and, therefore, will not be eligible for the $7,500 EV tax credit in the US. That could change depending on Nissan’s manufacturing plans in the future.
Like the majority of the auto industry, Nissan has promised to make and sell more electric vehicles. The company is targeting that more than 40 percent of its US vehicle sales by 2030 will be fully electric, with even more to be electrified (meaning hybrids and plug-in hybrids).
Nissan has long been a leader in electric vehicle sales, despite really only having one EV — the functional-if-uninspiring Nissan Leaf hatchback — on the market. The company unveiled the Ariya against the backdrop of corporate turmoil, executive turnover, plummeting sales, and pandemic-related cost-cutting at Nissan.
The Leaf may be on the chopping block, with Nissan likely not to introduce a next-gen model and mulling whether to discontinue the nameplate altogether.