I think you hit the nail on the head. You are right, Nissan did start it with the Leaf. However this just goes to show that for them, as with all Japanese companies, making EVs was simply a way to score points with environmental watchdogs and with consumers. When there was almost no competition, back in the 2010s, Nissan managed to win some awards. However as soon as companies like tesla came, they simply surpassed them almost overnight.

This is how the Japanese treated EVs. For them it was a passing “fad”. They still believe this unfortunately. Even with all evidence pointing to the fact that EVs are here to stay and are the future.

If they had actually given EVs due attention, they would have had over a decade of experience by now and a good working knowledge of how to mass produce many models. Unfortunately they treated EVs as they did and now even they will be buying and essentially re-badging Chinese EVs.

What a waste.