The small, affordable electric vehicles from Nissan and Mitsubishi are the co-winners of the 2022-2023 Japan Car of the Year. The Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi eK X EV beat out 10 other finalists to win Japan’s most prestigious car award. Both vehicles also received the Kei Car of the Year award.
By adopting the Japan Kei Car standards, jurors recognized that the Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi eK X EV lowered the hurdle to owning a battery electric vehicle (starting price is around P 730,000).
Despite its small stature, it still manages to offer 120 to 150 kilometers of real-world range, while the all-electric powertrain equates to better dynamic performance compared to conventional kei cars.
Jurors recognized the high level of safety and advanced driver assist systems that both vehicles offered, some of which are comparable to that of luxury cars.
In the bigger picture, jurors believed that combining the packaging of a kei car with an EV powertrain can potentially provide mobility, especially to the elderly, as gasoline stations and even some forms of public transportation are expected to decline ahead of Japan’s full-scale decarbonization.
Other winners announced were the 2022-2023 Japan Import Car of the Year won by the Hyundai Ioniq 5, 2022-2023 Japan Design Car of the Year won by the BMW iX, 2022-2023 Japan Technology of the Year won by the e-Power engine for the X-Trail, and 2022-2023 Japan Performance Car of the Year for the Honda Civic / Civic Type R.
This is how the jurors voted:
- Nissan Sakura / Mitsubishi eK X EV – 399 points
- Honda Civic / Honda Civic Type R – 320 points
- Toyota Crown – 236 points
- Mazda CX-60 – 141 points
- Nissan X-Trail – 84 points
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 75 points
- Nissan Z – 72 points
- Renault Arcana – 70 points
- BMW iX – 45 points
- Land Rover Range Rover – 30 points
- Suzuki Alto – 28 points
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