The boss of Nissan Australia has criticized Tesla for a series of “irresponsible” price drops and questions why Australians would remain loyal to the brand.
Nissan Oceania CEO Andrew Humberstone has slammed the US company for leading a series of drastic electric vehicle (EV) price cuts.
Tesla has dropped the price of its Model Y in Australia three times since March and its base model now costs $55,900 before on-road costs, a discount of $13,000.
Ford followed suit and lowered the price of its Mustang Mach-E in June.
Jeep, Peugeot and Polestar have also discounted their electric vehicles, and Humberstone criticized Tesla’s precedent as “disturbing” and questioned why customers who bought cars from the brand a year earlier would remain “loyal.”
He said those customers could have lost up to 40 percent of their car’s value.
‘I think it’s a risk for the business. I think it is a risk for the market. I think it’s irresponsible,” said Mr Humberstone. car expert.
“It forces people to follow it, or you have to sit in the action and wait for it to calm down and then react with hope after the initial inertia has been overcome.”
Nissan Oceania CEO Andrew Humberstone (pictured) criticized Tesla for leading a series of drastic EV price cuts across the Australian market.
Tesla has dropped the price of its Model Y (pictured) in Australia three times since March and its base model now costs just $55,900 before on-road costs – a discount of $13,000.
Nissan announced its own price cuts for its Leaf EV in May, in line with the end of the vehicle’s life cycle, with the vehicle costing $39,990 drive-away or $49,990 drive-away for the Leaf E+.
The models cost $50,990 and $61,490 respectively, before on-road costs.
However, Humberstone said Nissan was not interested in price wars.
‘Respectfully, for me, it’s a question of moral compass. I’m talking about authenticity and credibility; For me, (it’s) embarrassing,” he told the publication.
‘People have worked hard, part of the culture of this country is the hard-working Australians who have made this country what it is today.
‘Did they go out and work, do their job and then lose 40 percent of the value of their product overnight?’
Humberstone added that Nissan would need a “very good reason” to significantly lower its prices, outside of product life cycles.
He estimated at least 100 new businesses would enter the Australian market in the next five years, which meant customer loyalty was vital.
Nissan announced its own price cuts for its Leaf EV model (pictured) in May and the vehicle was $39,990 drive away.
Nissan is expected to launch the Ariya, its Model Y rival, in Australia in the second half of 2025.
The delayed launch is likely to see the company take a lesson from Ford’s launch of the Mustang Mach-E and Subaru’s Solterra, both of which announced discounts.
Humberstone believes Nissan has been “smart with timing”, allowing the brand to avoid price drops across the market.
