Nissan and Mitsubishi produced 50K new-gen mini BEV in a year

TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Mitsubishi Motors Corp and NMKV Co Ltd have announced that cumulative production of the Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi Motors eK X EV electric mini vehicles has reached 50,000 units since production started a year ago.

Both vehicles are produced at Mitsubishi Motors' Mizushima plant in Okayama prefecture, Japan.

The Sakura and eK X EV are a new generation of mini vehicles that are planned, developed, and managed by NMKV, a joint venture between Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.

Both models have won numerous awards, such as the 2022-2023 Japan Car of the Year award, RJC Car of the Year award, and Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (JAHFA) Car of the Year award.

As fully electric mini vehicles, the two models have also been highly acclaimed for their ideal form of mobility for Japan in the decarbonization era.

A statement from the companies said the two companies achieved high-quality and cost-competitive production by combining Nissan's cutting-edge EV production technologies with the EV-mini vehicle production technologies that Mitsubishi Motors developed through production of the i-MiEV, the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle, and the Minicab MiEV.