The boss of Nissan Australia has taken a swipe at Tesla over a series of irresponsible price drops as he questions why Aussies would stay loyal to the brand.
Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone slammed the US company for leading the way in a series of drastic electric vehicle (EV) price cuts.
Ford followed suit by dropping the price of its Mustang Mach-E in June.
Jeep, Peugeot and Polestar have also discounted their EVs with Mr Humberstone slamming the precedent from Tesla as disruptive and questioning why customers who bought cars from the brand a year earlier would remain loyal.
He said those customers could have lost up to 40 per cent of their cars value.
I think its a risk to the business. I think its a risk to the market. I think its irresponsible, Mr Humberstone told CarExpert.
It forces people to follow, or you have to sit on the stock and wait for it to calm down and then react hopefully after the initial inertia is being dealt with.
Nissan Oceania managing director Andrew Humberstone (pictured) has slammed Tesla for leading the way in 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 with its base model now costing just $55,900 before on-road costs - a $13,000 discount
Nissan announced its own price cuts to its Leaf EV in May - in line with the end of the vehicles life cycle - with the vehicle costing $39,990 drive-away or $49,990 drive-away for the Leaf E+.
The models were $50,990 and $61,490 respectively, before on-road costs.
However, Mr Humberstone said Nissan was uninterested in price wars.
Respectfully, for me, its a moral compass thing. I talk about authenticity and credibility – to me, [its] shameful, he told the publication.
People have worked hard, part of the culture of this country is hard-working Australians that have made this country what it is today.
They got out there and they work, they do their job, and then they lose 40 per cent of the value of their product overnight?
Mr Humberstone added Nissan would need a damn good reason to significantly drop its prices, outside of product life cycles.
He estimated at least 100 new companies would enter the Australian market in the next five years - meaning customer loyalty was vital.
Nissan announced its own price cuts to its Leaf EV model (pictured) in May with the vehicle costing $39,990 drive-away
Nissan is expected to launch the Ariya, its rival to the Model Y, in Australia in the second half of 2025.
The delayed launch is likely the company taking a lesson from Fords launch of the Mustang Mach-E and Subarus Solterra, with both announcing discounts.
Mr Humberstone believes Nissan has been smart with the timing which has allowed the brand to avoid tmarket-wide price drops.