Nissan's first electric SUV, the Ariya, is falling one-third behind estimates despite the automaker's recent announcement that it would increase efforts to bring electric vehicles (EVs) to market.
Introducing Ariya
After establishing a head start by launching the LEAF in 2010 as one of the first mass-market EVs, Nissan debuted the Ariya electric SUV in 2020 as its second worldwide electric car.
Following the LEAF's remarkable climb to the top of Europe's EV sales charts in 2018, it has subsequently fallen to second place as new fully autonomous cars from Tesla, Ford, General Motors (GM), Hyundai, Volkswagen (VW), and others have entered the market.
The Nissan Ariya, with a suggested retail price of $43,190, was eventually unveiled last year after multiple delays. It was created to revitalize the brand and bring it into the new age.
Electrek reported earlier this week that Nissan recalled 1,063 of its Ariya electric SUVs "out of an abundance of caution" following three incidences of the steering wheel becoming loose or detaching entirely.
Now, a new Reuters article claims that a lack of supplies has slowed Nissan Ariya's manufacturing.
Production Slowdowns
Production of the Nissan Ariya is at least a third behind target, according to the three anonymous sources of Reuters.
One of the individuals claims that the manufacturing of both EV and hybrid models on the same line is proving to be an incredibly high challenge for Nissan's new EV powertrain strategy.
Reuters believes the shortage is a missed chance to gauge interest in the Ariya, the first of Nissan's planned 19 new EVs by 2030. Furthermore, it thwarts the automaker's efforts to expand into the EV industry, a field in which it was an early innovator before losing ground to Tesla.
According to two of the insiders, the company has paused production of the Ariya due to issues with the highly automated "intelligent factory" manufacturing system designed for the model at its facility in Tochigi, north of Tokyo.
Nissan developed this system to manufacture vehicles with a variety of powertrains, including batteries, hybrids, and internal combustion engines, all on the same assembly line.
One of the individuals interviewed also said that the advanced paint line has become a constant source of stress due to the difficulty of implementation.
One of the persons stated that since a fire broke out at Wuxi Welnew Micro-Electronic, a supplier in China, in January, Nissan has been experiencing shortfalls in plating for an electronic component for the Ariya. The supplier has moved operations to a second facility and is trying to resume production.
In a statement to Reuters, Nissan claimed that problems with semiconductor supply, component shipments, and the factory's paint line had hampered Ariya assembly. Nissan has said it is working hard to restore the plant's full functionality for production.
