1.8 million yen electric vehicle / EV Nissan / Mitsubishi realized by "contrarian strategy" June 8 20:08

"Electric vehicles = EV is worrisome, but the price is ..."

In response to such a voice, a light vehicle type EV that can be bought for 1.8 million yen including subsidies will be sold.

How did you keep the price down while there are many EVs from 4 million yen to 6 million yen?

There was a "contrarian strategy" there.

(Reporter of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Atmosphere of Earth)

EV appearance of 1.8 million yen in substance

An automobile factory in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture.

Here, we usually make mini vehicles jointly developed by Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors.

In May, a new car presentation was held on the premises of such a factory.

What we saw was an "EV" that was about the same size as a mini car.

Manufacturers usually showcase "unprecedented features" when announcing a new car.

It may be a design, an interior, or an automated driving function.

So what did Nissan and Mitsubishi appeal to this time?

Of course, because it is a light size, the car body is compact, but what surprised the venue was the "price".

Since EV costs a battery, it will be more expensive if it is the same grade as a car with a gasoline engine, and the mainstream price is about 4 to 6 million yen.

However, this light-sized EV.

With a national subsidy, the standard grade costs around 1.8 million yen.

Depending on the region, local government subsidies may also be available, further reducing prices.

It is almost the same level as the average price range of domestic light vehicles.

The top management of both companies showed confidence in the spread.

President Kato of Mitsubishi Motors

"The new EV is not a special car to consider in the future.

Now, it has become one of the options that you can feel free to choose. It

is a new generation EV that will help realize a carbon-neutral society."

President Uchida of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

"Nissan has positioned this year as the first year of EV and will work on it further in the future.

I am confident that this car will be an EV game changer in Japan."

Can we make use of the lessons of the past?

Light size EV.

Behind the scenes was the bitter lessons of the past that Mitsubishi Motors learned.

This is the world's first mass-produced EV "I-MiEV" introduced in 2009.

At that time, it attracted attention as a full-fledged eco-car that does not emit greenhouse gases, but the price is 4.6 million yen and it is in the 3 million yen range including subsidies.

The total number of vehicles sold in Japan was only 12,000, and production was discontinued in March 2021.

President Kato of Mitsubishi Motors

"Unfortunately, due to price and cruising range issues, we couldn't reach the point where it would spread sufficiently to the world, but we can manage to put the various technological capabilities and knowledge we have cultivated up to now to the next. I've always had that feeling. "

Cost reduction with "contrarian strategy"

It is said that the company has developed a new EV by making full use of the lessons learned at this time.

The keyword is “contrarian strategy”.

It is said that the cost of batteries for EVs accounts for 40%.

Increasing the capacity of the battery will increase the distance that can be traveled on a single charge, but the price of the vehicle will increase accordingly.

There is fierce competition in the industry for how to extend the distance, but to keep prices down, you need to reduce the capacity of the battery.

Therefore, the company focused on the daily mileage of users in mini vehicles.

According to the company's research, about 80% of users of mini vehicles have a daily mileage of less than 50 kilometers.

Most of them were used for transportation to and from the nearest station and to and from supermarkets and hospitals, and long-distance driving was relatively rare.

In addition, we will conduct interview surveys with users to find distances that do not feel inconvenient.

As a result, the cruising range is about 180 km, which is 20 km longer than the i-MiEV.

While there are many rivals who are trying to extend the distance to 500 km or 600 km, so to speak, the "contrarian strategy" was used to reduce the distance.

In order to further reduce the price, we will devise other than the battery.

Taking full advantage of the economies of scale with Nissan, which has a tie-up relationship, the parts of the two companies are shared as much as possible in every detail.

By also producing Nissan cars at the Mitsubishi Motors factory, we will reduce labor costs and other costs.

As a result, we have achieved "1.8 million yen including subsidies."

President Kato of Mitsubishi Motors

"This EV has a sufficient cruising range for everyday use, and customers can purchase it at a cost comparable to that of an ordinary mini vehicle.

It is said that it was a turning point for the company .

There is a good chance that it will be a car. "

Business opportunities are in rural areas!

??

Where to sell is also a “contrarian strategy”.

EV accounts for less than 1% of new car sales in Japan.

One of the barriers to widespread use is the lack of charging stations.

Under these circumstances, it is the region that both companies consider to be a large market.

When selling a new car, it is the royal road to pay attention to the populous urban areas.

However, in the case of EVs, many people live in condominiums and other condominiums, and the limitation of charging locations is a bottleneck.

On the other hand, there are many single-family homes in rural areas, and if you install equipment, you can easily charge at home.

I thought that there was a big market in the regions where many people use it as a second car and the ratio of mini cars is high.

The number of gas stations is decreasing year by year, especially in rural areas, which is also expected to be a tailwind.

According to the summary of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, it peaked at 60,000 in 1994 and continued to decrease, and in 2020 it was almost halved to 29,000.

There is no one in 10 towns and villages nationwide, and in some 279 cities, towns and villages are more than 15 kilometers away from the nearest gas station.

Will it penetrate in light EV regions?

But can it really sell in rural areas?

Yukio Furukawa, who runs an izakaya in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, uses his car every day to go back and forth between the store and his home, buy ingredients, and deliver bento boxes that he has begun to focus on due to Korona-ka.

I have two cars, an ordinary passenger car and a light car, and I am considering replacing them.

Mr. Furukawa

"I have a job at night every day, so I ride for about half a day for shopping, and I also drive around on holidays.

Gunma is a car society, so I can't go anywhere without a car."

I've always loved cars and have always been interested in EVs.

However, even if it is cheap, the price of about 4 million yen became a bottleneck, and he said that he could not afford it.

In addition, I was worried about EV.

Mr. Furukawa:

"When you get stuck in a traffic jam, you will turn on the air conditioner. If you do

so, you may run out of electricity.

Even if the charging spot is one kilometer away, you can't reach it, and you can use a tow truck. There is no choice but to pull it.

After all EV is unknown, so I'm worried. "

When I heard that an EV with a low price would come out, Mr. Furukawa decided to test drive the EV, although it is another model.

It is said that he was satisfied with the ride quality, such as the quietness and acceleration peculiar to EVs.

Mr. Furukawa

"It is attractive to get a subsidy of 550,000 yen.

The two points of power and quietness are good points that gasoline cars do not have, and I felt that there was no problem with running and there was a lot of charm.

The only thing I'm worried about is the mileage of the battery. "

A light EV that keeps the price down by reducing the cruising range.

Well, consumers ...

"If you charge it diligently, you don't care about the cruising range. It's cheap."

"Sometimes you go far away ... Even if it's expensive, you should run a long distance."

What kind of reaction do you have?

Chinese EV is a “threat”

By the way, in the world's largest automobile market = China, EVs with reduced cruising range and reduced prices are gaining popularity.

A two-seater EV sold by a Chinese EV maker.

The price is less than 500,000 yen in Japanese yen, which is cheap.

Manufacturers are thoroughly pursuing low-priced routes, such as limiting the cruising range to 120 kilometers and not adding a cooling function.

It means that 270,000 units (2020) were sold in less than a year.

According to a survey by an international organization, the total number of EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles that can be charged externally was 3.33 million units in China last year.

It is a big increase of 2.9 times the previous year.

Experts familiar with the Chinese automobile market say that while sales of EVs in the Japanese yen range of 5 to 6 million yen are strong in China, small EVs of 1 million yen or less, including the above-mentioned cheap cars, are selling well. We believe that the popularity has also been a factor in boosting overall sales.

As the number of vehicles sold increases, the technological level of Chinese EV manufacturers is also rising year by year.

An executive of one manufacturer said, "Chinese EVs are at a high technical level and are no longer the ones Japanese engineers see below. Recognizing that they are a threat to Japanese manufacturers. You have to have a sense of crisis. "

Will it be a touchstone for the spread of EVs?

Light vehicle size EV.

What do experts see?

Senior Analyst Sugimoto, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities

"In the global EV market, the field of small cars and luxury cars is becoming more widespread, but in Japan there were few small EVs, so it became a pioneering model

. The EVs produced by domestic manufacturers by then have not yet come out as a big success story, but this light EV may have some success.

While EVs are not spreading in Japan , We are paying attention to future sales. "

Regarding mini vehicle-sized EVs, Honda plans to launch new models by 2024, and Suzuki and Daihatsu by 2025, and sales competition is expected to intensify.

"Distance" "Price" "Usability".

What do consumers prioritize, what level and what balance do they prefer?

As EVs become more widespread, I feel that the sales of EVs this time may be a “touchstone”.

Reporter of the Ministry of Economic Affairs

Makoto

Atmosphere After working at the Okinawa Bureau and Yamaguchi Bureau, he

was

in charge of the automobile industry at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.