TOKYO : Nissan Motor Co's new Ariya electric vehicle has been hampered by problems at its high-tech production line, four people familiar with the matter said, slowing delivery of a car designed to put the automaker on the road to a comeback.
The shortfall represents a lost opportunity to capitalise on the Ariya's buzz and test demand for the first of 19 new EVs Nissan plans to roll out by 2030. It also hinders the automaker's plans for growth in the electric car market it helped pioneer before ceding dominance to Tesla Inc. Implementation has proved"an extremely, extremely high challenge" and the advanced paint line has become a persistent headache, one of the people said.
S&P Global Ratings this week cut Nissan's debt rating to junk status, saying margins and sales volumes were unlikely to improve as quickly as previously expected.The production challenges come as Nissan and France's Renault SA in January agreed to overhaul their two-decade-old alliance on more equal footing. Nissan also agreed to invest in Renault's new EV business.
Output over the next two months is expected to fall short of that, according to production planning notes from last month reviewed by Reuters. Output in March was forecast at under 6,900 vehicles and at around 5,200 in April and 5,400 in May, according to the planning notes. That has since been lowered, one of the people said.U.S. dealers stopped taking customer reservations last year, while Japanese dealers stopped taking orders in August.
"Just like the Beetle brought Volkswagen back, I think the Ariya will bring Nissan back," Beltran said, adding some customers had cancelled Tesla deposits for the Ariya.
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