Global presentation this morning from Nissan of the next Micra. Which, to no great surprise, will be electric.
A little nugget of information was that they expect battery prices to fall by 65% by 2028, making them cheaper than ICE’s.
www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/nissan-confirm...e
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Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said: “This all-new model will be designed by Nissan and engineered and manufactured by Renault..”
Why do they always do it the wrong way around!
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Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said: “This all-new model will be designed by Nissan and engineered and manufactured by Renault..” Why do they always do it the wrong way around!
Another Nissan Sunny Europe in the making? Ouch.
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Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said: “This all-new model will be designed by Nissan and engineered and manufactured by Renault..” Why do they always do it the wrong way around!
Ah, memories of the Alfa Arna. A Nissan Cherry body and Alfa Romeo engines.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Arna, what could go wrong?
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I read not too long ago that Renault is aiming for the new R5 (which presumably the Micra will share a platform with) to be around 30% cheaper than the Zoe which it will effectively replace.
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Global presentation this morning from Nissan of the next Micra. Which, to no great surprise, will be electric. A little nugget of information was that they expect battery prices to fall by 65% by 2028, making them cheaper than ICE’s. www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/nissan-confirm...e
I suspect they are just plucking figures out of the aire as regards battery prices. It's noticeable that the 'electric only' vehicles are all at the 'budget' smaller car end of the market, which will effectively price-out most people on low to middle incomes, including the young.
Also, as I've stated before, the lack of decent (fast, cheap to install and robust / long-lived) charging facilities and the space / local infrastructure and money to install them for people living in flats, terraced housing, especially in larger towns and cities will essentially preclude them from even considering buying an EV, epsecially when the range and charging times and still not comparable to ICE on the budgets they have.
They'll be lucky to sell any of these, which won't be much of a change given how few they currently shift.
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They'll be lucky to sell any of these, which won't be much of a change given how few they currently shift.
They sold 65,000 of them in Europe in the last full proper year - 2019 - doesn't seem to bad to me.
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They'll be lucky to sell any of these, which won't be much of a change given how few they currently shift.
They sold 65,000 of them in Europe in the last full proper year - 2019 - doesn't seem to bad to me.
Not so good if you divide that up between around 30 nations though. I remember (when I owned a K11 example 20 years ago) seeing them everywhere - including as courtsey cars for repair shops and for driving instructors' work cars, now you'll be lucky to see one a month unless you live near a Nissan dealership.
My point is that they used to be a value-for-money car for the masses. I'm not sure you can say that even now for the car, let alone when it goes electric-only for the next version, despite all the (IMHO overly-optimistic) assurances that they will be cheaper than ICE (likely only if artificially done via 'green' taxes and not because of cheaper battery prices [green tech is notorious for being over-promised on affordability and performance per £).
The same will be said for the Mini and the Fiat 500, where sales will be dropping like the proverbial stone as they go all EV.
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Not so good if you divide that up between around 30 nations though. I remember (when I owned a K11 example 20 years ago) seeing them everywhere - including as courtsey cars for repair shops and for driving instructors' work cars, now you'll be lucky to see one a month unless you live near a Nissan dealership.
My point is that they used to be a value-for-money car for the masses. I'm not sure you can say that even now for the car, let alone when it goes electric-only for the next version, despite all the (IMHO overly-optimistic) assurances that they will be cheaper than ICE (likely only if artificially done via 'green' taxes and not because of cheaper battery prices [green tech is notorious for being over-promised on affordability and performance per £).
The same will be said for the Mini and the Fiat 500, where sales will be dropping like the proverbial stone as they go all EV.
At the moment manufacturers can sell as many EV's as they can make - not sure why you think sales will decline of cars like the Mini and Fiat 500 when they go EV. The Mini is not a cheap car even now as it's more premium priced. And most people don't buy cars they lease them so all that is important is the monthly cost and with lower fuel costs they will be able to pay more for a car.
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Also, as I've stated before, the lack of decent (fast, cheap to install and robust / long-lived) charging facilities and the space / local infrastructure and money to install them for people living in flats, terraced housing, especially in larger towns and cities will essentially preclude them from even considering buying an EV, epsecially when the range and charging times and still not comparable to ICE on the budgets they have.
They'll be lucky to sell any of these, which won't be much of a change given how few they currently shift.
I agree that we are going to see the less well off priced off the roads, however that is a bonus for those of us that can afford a new vehicle since traffic levels will presumably fall as older ICE cars are scrapped. We need big investment in public transport for those on low incomes.
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<< We need big investment in public transport for those on low incomes. >>
It would be churlish to pooh-pooh public transport as something desirable, but it only works properly in urban areas. It could be a life-saver in rural areas, but that can never be profitable so it has to be subsidised. People wanting to travel peculiar routes - or even take home the weekly shop - will not be tempted by P-T, especially if it includes waiting in the rain or cold for a bus that is running late. A taxi would do, but that costs.
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<< We need big investment in public transport for those on low incomes. >>
It would be churlish to pooh-pooh public transport as something desirable, but it only works properly in urban areas. It could be a life-saver in rural areas, but that can never be profitable so it has to be subsidised. People wanting to travel peculiar routes - or even take home the weekly shop - will not be tempted by P-T, especially if it includes waiting in the rain or cold for a bus that is running late. A taxi would do, but that costs.
The general public would be horrified if they realised how much money they’re paying to subsidise unviable bus routes in the wilderness. Often a bus is sent out to tiny villages in the middle of nowhere maybe 6 times a day only to pick up one pensioner every couple of days. It would cost a fraction of the money to give them unlimited taxis instead. Millions are poured away yearly on this and as far as I’m concerned if you choose to live in the middle of nowhere transport should be your consideration, why should others pay for your lifestyle choices?
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The general public would be horrified if they realised how much money they’re paying to subsidise unviable bus routes in the wilderness. Often a bus is sent out to tiny villages in the middle of nowhere maybe 6 times a day only to pick up one pensioner every couple of days. It would cost a fraction of the money to give them unlimited taxis instead. Millions are poured away yearly on this and as far as I’m concerned if you choose to live in the middle of nowhere transport should be your consideration, why should others pay for your lifestyle choices?
I drive for a volunteer-run local bus service. Our passengers are mostly elderly, may never have had a driving licence, or may have given up driving, some are disabled. We are the only transport available for many villages, and we can only justify one bus a week for most of them. The difference between our fares (bus pass for many, so no cost to them) at about £6 for the return trip, and £25 each way for a taxi, makes us the only way they can get to the shops, the bank.... Most of our passengers have lived in the same place all their lives; the buses have gradually disappeared and we are their lifeline. We manage to visit nearly 50 villages in each week. It works, and we remain just about viable. There's certainly no way a commercial service would work, even with subsidy.
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<< We are the only transport available for many villages, and we can only justify one bus a week for most of them. Most of our passengers have lived in the same place all their lives; the buses have gradually disappeared and we are their lifeline. >>
Clearly these services allow such people to get out occasionally when otherwise they might not. But things are as they are because - other than at rush hours - most passengers have bus passes so the council pays, and it is that way because those who have cars prefer to use them as they are much more convenient.
About the only worthwhile calculation for an individual is whether to dispose of a car, relying on taxis which might cost them less than running costs, parking, tax and insurance. I think quite a few could do that, but it's hard to 'let go' as long as one is still able to drive.
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Saddens me to see the Micra become nothing more than a rebadged Renault in recent years. The best example was the K11 from 1992. These looked like a cartoon characters car and were great fun on the road. That they cost peanuts to run and were utterly dependable only finalised the deal. A base model 1.0 L with steel wheels and no unnecessary gadgets is still to this day one of my all time favourite small cars. That lovely wee twin cam 16v engine sang away happily no matter how much abuse you threw at it. The handling was spot on too. These never sat on our forecourt for long.
Edited by SLO76 on 27/01/2022 at 23:08
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Saddens me to see the Micra become nothing more than a rebadged Renault in recent years. The best example was the K11 from 1992. These looked like a cartoon characters car and were great fun on the road. That they cost peanuts to run and were utterly dependable only finalised the deal. A base model 1.0 L with steel wheels and no unnecessary gadgets is still to this day one of my all time favourite small cars. That lovely wee twin cam 16v engine sang away happily no matter how much abuse you threw at it. The handling was spot on too. These never sat on our forecourt for long.
Just discovered by chance the other day (found one on Ebay, 185238953087) that there was an estate version of the K11 Micra!.
In Japan, the Micra is known as the Nissan March and the estate as the March Box.
Also in Japan (I think only Japan), there was a version of the first gen March/Micra called the Super Turbo introduced in 1988 limited to 10k units. It remains the fastest accelerating production March/Micra with an impressive 7.7 seconds 0-62mph time courtesy of its 930cc(*) supercharged and turbocharged 110PS 4 cyl engine. It was available as a manual or auto (3 speed T/C) and came with a viscous(?) LSD.
(*) This was an independent engine which had very little in common with the 987cc n/a 1.0 we got in the UK ( a 76PS turbo version of which was used in the Figaro)
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The Super Turbo was actually rallied by the factory 89-92, with up to 160PS.
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Saddens me to see the Micra become nothing more than a rebadged Renault in recent years. The best example was the K11 from 1992. These looked like a cartoon characters car and were great fun on the road. That they cost peanuts to run and were utterly dependable only finalised the deal. A base model 1.0 L with steel wheels and no unnecessary gadgets is still to this day one of my all time favourite small cars. That lovely wee twin cam 16v engine sang away happily no matter how much abuse you threw at it. The handling was spot on too. These never sat on our forecourt for long.
Looks like they'll be doing the same with the Mitsubishi ASX replacement, essentially being a rebadged Renault.
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Disaster.
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I was pleased with my Renault Megane, I had a couple of silly electrical faults (windows) but because it was a known fault it was covered beyond the three year warranty. Can't moan about that. I think the newer Renaults such as the Captur are in a different league to some of the stuff they made in the early 2000's such as Laguna and Scenic MK2s.
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Disaster.
Nissan/Renault and Mitsubishi are all profitable companies - maybe they know what they are doing after all?
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Nissan/Renault and Mitsubishi are all profitable companies - maybe they know what they are doing after all?
Do you recall the VW ad strapline: "If only everything was as reliable as a Volkswagen" when their reliability was on the floor?
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Nissan/Renault and Mitsubishi are all profitable companies - maybe they know what they are doing after all?
Do you recall the VW ad strapline: "If only everything was as reliable as a Volkswagen" when their reliability was on the floor?
I do remember it
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The Super Turbo was actually rallied by the factory 89-92, with up to 160PS.
That would have been a real flying machine, with so little mass to shift!
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