Nissan Ariya EV price drops following Toyota’s massive electric vehicle discount in China

Nissan is slashing prices on its first electric SUV, the Nissan Ariya, in China to remain competitive in the booming Chinese electric vehicle market.

Nissan slashes Ariya EV prices after Toyota in China

Less than a week after Toyota cut prices on its first electric SUV, the bZ4X, in China, Nissan is following suit.

Nissan’s joint venture in China, Dongfeng Nissan, is showcasing the promotion on the front page of its website. The limited-time discount is good for up to 60,000 yuan (roughly $8,700) with a new starting price of 224,800 RMB (around $32,800).

The move follows Toyota, which dropped the price of its flagship electric SUV by 20,000 RMB ($4,300) last week, or 15% with a new starting price under $25,000.

Meanwhile, after droping prices in January by up to 13% , causing several other brands in the region to implement similar price cuts (For example, XPeng also cut prices by 13% shortly after), amid “demand concerns” it seems Tesla has found its groove again.

Tesla updated its online configurator for its models in China, showing a 2,000 yuan increase on the Model Y Long Range, now starting at 311,900 yuan ($45,473).

The new Nissan Ariya EV promo will run until March 31st according to the automakers website. Although the Ariya is not Nissan’s first EV to luanch in China (they also have the Sulphy Zero Emission), it’s expected to play a pivotal role as Nissan looks to increase its share of the largest EV market globally.

Nissan only sold 1,205 pure EVs in China in 2022, the lowest among Japanese automakers which have lagged as a group overall to go fully electric.

Both Toyota and Japanese rival Honda have indicated they will speed up EV deployment recently: Will Nissan do the same?

Electrek’s Take

Price cuts or increases or generally a good indication of demand. With Nissan and Toyota both dropping prices significantly, it looks like they are trying to increase their position in the worlds largest EV market.

China’s electric vehicle market continues expanding rapidly as legacy and startup automakers race to claim their position.

With Toyota’s bZ4X now starting under $25,000 and the Ariya priced over $32,000, Nissan may continue running into challenges in the region.

We’ll see how the price cuts play out in a critical year for automakakers in 2023 as the industry undergoes one of the biggest transformations throughout history.