Sakura

STORY

The Sakura is the Nissan half of a kei-class electric car planned and developed by NMKV, the Nissan and Mitsubishi joint venture, and built by Mitsubishi at its Mizushima plant in Kurashiki; Mitsubishi sells its own version as the eK X EV, with different grades, prices, colours and front-end styling. Nissan presented the Sakura in Yokohama on 20 May 2022, the same day as the line-off ceremony in Kurashiki, with a 20 kWh battery, 180 km of WLTC range and a 47 kW motor making 195 Nm, inside the 3,395 mm kei footprint. Japanese sales opened on 16 June 2022 from 2,333,100 yen, by which point orders had passed 11,000 in about three weeks, and Nissan called ProPILOT Park a first for the minivehicle class. On 8 December 2022 the Sakura and its Mitsubishi twin took the 2022-2023 Japan Car of the Year and Kei Car of the Year titles.