Larger Nissan Ariya-based all-electric SUV possibly in the pipeline

The dedicated all-electric platform that underpins the Nissan Ariya could potentially spawn a larger spin-off by as early as next year according to a fresh report from the United Kingdom.

Known as the CMF-EV architecture that serves as Nissan’s version of Volkswagen’s MEB, Yokohama’s Head of Electric Passenger Vehicle and Infrastructure in Europe, Helen Perry, hinted to Autocar that it expects the SUV segment to grow substantially in the coming years, but added that buyer demand would dictate the prospects of there being an upsized Ariya.

“The platform will be used for other cars in the future. The C-SUV and D-SUV segments are due to grow about 300% over the next three years, so we will look to use the platform in growth segments in the next few years,” Perry told the British publication.

“If we’d bought Ariya to market earlier, I’m not sure customers would have been ready for it. Technology wouldn’t have been as up to date as it will be at launch. And while Covid-19 has been terrible, it has made customers review what is important – for example, emissions”.

Despite not wanting to be drawn into any further speculation by the magazine that the new SUV’s range could eclipse the flagship’s Ariya’s 580 km, Perry did describe the range as a benchmark given the chances of the Ariya being used every day as it can travel substantially further than the Leaf.

“We expect the Ariya to be the first car in a household, whereas the Leaf is typically a second car. The choice we’ve made for the Ariya is based on the way the customer will use the car. We’ve put in a bigger battery to have as little range anxiety as possible, so it’s important if people are using it to travel [long distances] that they have access to the widest options for quick charging,” she said.

Going on sale from mid-2021 in Japan followed by markets in Europe and North America, the Ariya, unsurprisingly, has not yet been confirmed for South Africa with its intended spin-off set to follow the same route.

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