Car maker pushes concept of mobility in the future

(Courtesy of Nissan Motor Co.)

Nissan Motor Co. has unveiled its vision of mobility in the future of mankind, bringing together the concepts of innovation, ease-of-use, safety and cleanliness.

Underlining its ambition of bringing about a sustainable, zero-emissions society, the company announced its new Nissan New Mobility Concept at its Yokohama headquarters on Monday.

The two-seater is designed to be compact and extremely nimble in tight situations, enables anyone to manoeuver the vehicle and park with ease. And because it is powered by electricity, there are no harmful emissions, the company said.

"Our proposal is a sustainable, efficient and convenient mode of transportation focusing on the increase in elderly and single households, as well as the trend of driving short distances or in smaller groups," the company said in a statement.

Nissan envisages the new vehicle as a user-friendly system that can be used as a public transportation service as well as a privately owned car, including in the form of "Two-car EV car-sharing," by which the vehicle serves as a private commuter vehicle in the morning and evening, but as a corporate car during business hours.

Japan's car companies are investing a great deal of the research and development budgets into vehicles that will meet the needs of changing societies around the world - as well as incorporating the weird and whimsical into some concepts that are unlikely to get much further than the drawing board.

Toyota not long ago came up with a car that would change colour according to the driver's mood. The idea was to make the car both more responsive to the people around it and closer to a living organism - such as a pet - rather than a machine.

Sensing how the driver was driving at any given time, the body panels would change from red - indicating irritation or frustration - through green for serenity and blue for sadness. In another touch that made the car more alive, the radio aerial would waggle like a dog's tail.

Nissan also unveiled its Land Glider concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2009, a vehicle with a narrow body that was designed to slip through traffic jams in the increasingly congested cities of the future.

JR