Nissan has introduced the Nissan Sakura to enliven the Kei car class in Japan (20/5). The Nissan Sakura was launched as one of Nissan’s first electric Kei cars developed with Mitsubishi.
Yup, almost simultaneously with the launch of Sakura, Mitsubishi also introduced its ‘brother’ namely the Mitsubishi eK X EV. “The new Nissan Sakura follows in the footsteps of LEAF and the Ariya as a mass electric car,” said Asako Hoshino, Executive Vice President of Nissan.
“We believe it will be a breakthrough for the Japanese market and make electric cars more accessible to Japanese consumers,” added Hoshino.
Like other Kei cars, the Nissan Sakura has a very compact body dimension. The Sakura body is only 3,395 mm long, 1,475 mm wide, 1,655 mm high, and has a wheelbase of 2,495 mm.
But inside the super compact body, the Nissan Sakura has been equipped with an electric drive that is no less sophisticated than other electric cars.
First from the electric motor, Nissan equips Sakura with a driving motor that produces 47 kW or 63 hp and 195 Nm of torque.
Thanks to this large torque, the Nissan Sakura electric motor is said to be able to provide easy acceleration when entering the toll road.
Then about the battery, Nissan only provides Sakura with a 20 kWh battery which is claimed to be able to provide a mileage of 180 kilometers according to Japan’s Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Cycles (WLTC).
Although the battery is not large, the Nissan Sakura can be charged quickly from the battery indicator light up to 80% in just 40 minutes. Interestingly, the Nissan Sakura can be a “walking powerbank” because it already has the Vehicle to Home (V2H) feature.
Nissan says the Sakura battery is enough to supply electricity to the house for one day assuming 12 kW of electricity consumption.
Regarding features, the Nissan Sakura is equipped with the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) ProPILOT and ProPILOT Park features as well as e-Pedal Step.
