With Australia saying it isn’t set to take Nissan’s new coupe crossover any time soon, what chance of NZ seeing this important electric car?

MIGHT admission from Nissan in Australia that it’s not set to take the brand’s next generation electric car due to the lack of incentives be bad news for Kiwis awaiting that vehicle?

In relating to our neighbour’s national media at the weekend that Australia is "missing out" on newer, cheaper electric vehicles, Nissan offered as a specific example the new Ariya crossover – and it’s bad news.

The big brother to the Leaf that’s by far the most popular EV in NZ – albeit almost wholly on strength of success as a product imported second-hand from Japan – is about to go international sale.

Last week Ariya made its first public appearance, a drive around Monaco’s Formula One Grand Prix circuit (on strength this has recently hosted a Formula E race).

The 500km-range, all-wheel-drive five-seater is a technically exciting prospect that would conceivably give Nissan’s distributor here a chance it never got with the Leaf – to establish proliferation as a manufacturer-backed, NZ-new product.

However, everything comes down to availability and having the right connections.

In respect to that, comment from Nissan Australia that “at this time (the Ariya) is unconfirmed for Australia” is potentially not what New Zealand’s distribution network, nor Kiwis keen to buy brand-new Nissan electric cars, want to hear.

Because? Simply, historically the product plan for New Zealand is heavily reliant on what our neighbour chooses.

While the brand has a national operation with its own boss based in Auckland, that outfit is a subsidiary to a regional structure in Australia. Melbourne is where all the big shots are called.

Nissan NZ has been invited to comment.

Australia’s political interest in electric cars is tepid compared with New Zealand and the take-up is much lower.

However, because NZ’s annual new car sales rate is less than 20 percent the size of Australia’s, it often suits distributors – especially when they are tied, as is the case with Nissan – to co-ordinate their product choices.

This has historically given a much better chance of achieving the best cars at the strongest supply rate; the higher the volume, the better the chance a market stands.

Makers of electric vehicles, though, are particularly swayed by the market climate.

Nissan Australia has pointed out what has also become apparent here - that countries that offer strong incentives to encourage motorists to switch to EVs are simply always going to come first. Those that do not risk being pushed further behind the international market.

In NZ, EVs are exempt from Road User Tax, but this is under review. Australia has no national policy to encourage EV uptake, though some states are acting individually and not always with proactive outcome.

The Australian Capital Territory is most pro-EV. It has introduced nation-leading incentives for Canberrans to buy electric vehicles.

Nissan Australia’s national manager for electrification, Ben Warren, told Australia’s ABC website that his brand’s best electric models are not coming to Australia.

“When you can only make so many cars, you have to prioritise where you send them,” Warren said.

“Naturally the markets that have the more progressive policies and objectives and targets, are the markets that get prioritised over markets like ours.”

Asked directly by the ABC if that meant Australian drivers were missing out, Warren replied: “We absolutely are.”

He said Australia only needed to take direction from European nations.

"When we look at the markets that have made the biggest leaps in recent years, this is off the back of fairly consistent policies and regulatory settings and direction from the government," Warren said.

"Ultimately the opportunity for Australia does require the government … to give the guidance to industry, to give the guidance to consumers.”

The first product to sit atop the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-EV electric architecture that will be used by all partner brands, the Ariya will provision in five variants, topped by a performance model.

The lesser models have single motor rear-wheel-drive and the others delivering twin motor four-wheel-drive powertrains, swapping the entry 63kWh lithium ion battery for a 87kWh unit.

The 63kWh single motor model will offer 160kW/300Nm and a range of around 450 kilometres in its most modest format.

The 87kWh edition is enabled for 178kW/300Nm, a range of at least 500kms, 0-100kmh in 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 160kmh as standard.

There’s also an e-4orce flagship that packs more punch – 389kW and 600Nm – and extra pep: Zero to 100kmh in 5.1 s and top speed of 200kmh. Range for that one drops to 400kms. All those estimates are from Nissan. The WLTP figures have yet to be provisioned.

All models have an on-board 130W fast-charging inverter that can top up 375km (80 percent of the smallest battery’s lowest range) in 30 minutes.

Ariya adopts standard, sport and eco modes, with e-Force models adding a snow function. It also uses the Leaf’s e-Pedal regeneration set-up, allowing one pedal driving. And some variants will take Nissan’s Pro Pilot 2.0, which allows for hands-free driving in some circumstances. It relies on more than 20 sensors such as cameras, radar and ultrasonic components.

At 4595mm long, 1850mm wide and 1655mm tall, the Ariya is relatively compact, but it has a 2775mm wheelbase and the absence of a transmission tunnel plus some clever stowage ideas will enhance interior space.

The entry rear-drive car’s boot offers 466-litres’ capacity; editions with the 87kWh battery have 58 litres’ less space. Still, what helps is that the battery is a flat pack, which allows the vehicle to have a completely flat floor.

The interior features a high-tech interior, with almost no buttons or knobs, and aims to deliver a premium feel. Many touch controls are neatly integrated into the timber fascia that runs across the dash and are handled through "capacitive haptic touch-sensitive icons that light up on the dashboard.

Nissan claims Ariya is expected to represent a new electrified brand identity – “blazing a path to an era of advanced electrification, interior layout, and seamless vehicle intelligence.”

Notwithstanding that Leaf achieves approximately 50 percent of the total new and used EV fleet on strength of being a used and grey ‘as new’ imported car, it is still being retailed by Nissan NZ, with prices starting at $61,990.