First revealed in 2020, the crossover SUV with up to 300 miles of range was supposed to be out in 2021. Then that got delayed to 2022, and now, this year, they're finally tricking out of Nissan's factory in Japan and onto the roads. The Ariya has a base price of just under $45,000 and is sold alongside the smaller Leaf EV in Nissan showrooms.
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So what happened to the Ariya's original time frame? The same thing that's delayed all kinds of vehicles lately: shortages.
"I think when the manufacturers, even the legacy manufacturers, are predicting when vehicles will be in showrooms, there's still a bit of guesswork going on. Also don't forget that the biggest issue in the supply chain is microchips. And electric vehicles have significantly more microchips," said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at car research and buying site iSeeCars.com.
It's a similar story at GM, which has made a big promise to go all electric. The Cadillac Lyriq was shown in production form early last year, and was supposed to be out by last summer for a starting price in the $60,000 range. But relatively few have been delivered. GM says shortages have been a factor in all their vehicle production, and they're taking great care with quality control on the Lyriq. Industry watchers say there may possibly another factor in this case.
Toyota moving forward with tiered approach to electric vehicle future
"You're General Motors, you're making a lot of money on your big SUVs and trucks. And so I think there's undeniably an effort to modulate how many of these electric vehicles they're making, relative to the higher profit vehicles they make that are more traditional like trucks and big SUVs," noted analyst Karl Brauer.
Also not really showing up in big numbers, the heralded return of GM's Hummer brand, as an all-electric pickup from GMC, followed by an SUV. They've been pretty scarce out on the roads thus far.
It does seem like it does take a long time for traditional auto makers to bring a new all-electric vehicle to market. But observers of the auto industry say they're all ramping up to be able to build more electric cars at a faster pace in the future.
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"We see the government putting in these mandates, so all these car companies, some may be getting there quicker than others today. But they all have to get there in the next six to eight years," said Karl Brauer of iSeeCars.com.
So if you're pining for the latest in electric power, and maybe from a brand you like, the choices are out there. You might have to be patient, however.