The Nissan Ariya was supposed to launch in 2021, but like many others, the Japanese automaker was forced to delay the launch due to supply chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The highly anticipated launch came late in 2022, with Nissan only managing to deliver 201 units in the final quarter.
The outlook isn’t looking much better for 2023 as Nissan is warning its dealer that supply of the electric crossover will remain low this year.
The news was delivered at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) show over the weekend, where Nissan dealers from across North America wanted to know when they could expect to receive more Ariya SUVs. In response Nissan said high battery materials costs were one of the key drivers in the limited production of the Ariya. The automaker didn’t disclose how many Ariya SUVs were destined for North America, but a source that spoke with Automotive News revealed 6,000 were allocated to US dealers for the fiscal year 2022, which ends March 31, 2023. To date 4,500 of those have been built, according to the source.
In fiscal 2023 that number is expected to increase to about 30,000, a figure that is still well below demand for the Ariya. One dealer, who declined to be identified, said he was “shocked and deflated” at the low figures, and wondered why Nissan “can’t produce the Ariya in any acceptable volume.”
To try and ease dealer concerns, Nissan said they were “full steam ahead” to increase production of the Ariya, which is currently being built at the ‘Intelligent Factory’ at Nissan’s Tochigi assembly complex near Tokyo. However, the automaker warned that high prices and low availability of battery components will make that difficult to do.
Nissan will have to significantly increase production and availability of its EVs if it wants to reach its goal of having 40% of its sales be zero emission by 2030.
