Due to lengthy delivery times of a year or more, Nissan Motor Co. has temporarily suspended accepting new orders for its recently launched light electric cars (EVs), a Nissan representative said.
At the end of the month, the Japanese carmaker ceased accepting orders for the Sakura totally electric mini “kei” cars, according to the spokeswoman. It is unknown when the company will start accepting orders again, according to Reuters, although the corporation announced the halt on its website on Tuesday.
In Nissan’s home market, gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles continue to be much more popular than EVs, but the company intends to entice more Japanese drivers to battery-powered cars by providing inexpensive mini variants like the Sakura.
Nissan also stopped taking new orders of the X-Trail crossover sports utility vehicle for the same reason.
The suspension is for the domestic market, the spokesperson said.
“We are unable to provide customers with a delivery date response,” the spokesperson said.
Strong orders and the global shortage of semiconductor chips, which had raised doubts about the manufacturing schedule for the upcoming fiscal year, have resulted in delivery times that have increased by a year or more, the representative noted.
The Japanese automaker unveiled the Sakura, its first jointly developed light EV with alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp in May and said in July it had attracted orders of 23,000 units, exceeding the total number of battery-driven EVs sold by all companies in Japan last year.
Nissan said in August it would stop taking new orders for the Leaf EV currently sold in the domestic market in late September.
