Generous government assistance spurs purchases but could distort market

20260706N Super One Sakura

The Honda Super-One and the Nissan Sakura electric vehicles are eligible for generous subsidies. (Photos by Honda Motor and Nikkei)

SOTA TANAKA and ITSUKI MIYAKE

TOKYO — Subsidies for electric vehicles provided by the central and Tokyo municipal governments have slashed the effective price of a new Nissan Motor EV to as little as 560,000 yen ($3,450), making it cheaper than buying a used version of the same model.