Nissan has revealed more details of its new electric concept car after the Paris Motor Show opened yesterday.
It’s the first time the new concept has been seen in public and is designed to indicate the direction the Japanese car maker will take next with its EV technology as its electric Leaf prepares to go on sale at the end of the year.
Nissan says the new Townpod is designed to meet the needs of a new breed of professional who does not work fixed hours, and maybe even work for themselves so the lines between their business and social lives blur. Likewise, the car is designed to be as equally multifaceted. Comparing the new Townpod to a ‘white tee-shirt’ which although usually worn casually, can be combined with a suit to look smart, this genre-busting vehicle is designed to mix the comfort and style of a passenger car with the businesslike utility of a commercial vehicle.
Just as classic sedans and estates have evolved over time into hatchbacks, MPVs, SUVs and now crossovers, to meet the needs of commuting life and weekend pleasure, Nissan’s new EV is the next evolution, it reckons.
François Bancon, general manager of Nissan’s Exploratory and Advance Planning Department explains: "At its core, a car is a means to transport people or goods from one place to another as simply and easily as possible. Nissan Townpod’s design supports the essence of its function. It is a smart car for people who demand more."
Designed to look more van-like than the Leaf, the car is shaped to maximise internal space while still retaining aerodynamic efficiency.
Externally the Townpod consist of many familiar elements seen in the Leaf and although no details have been released on performance, it is likely that it will achieve similar credentials to the electric Leaf; which goes on sale in the US by the end of the year and in the UK in early 2011. It employs the same zero-emission technology found in Nissan’s first electric production car, with the charging point found in the nose behind an automatically retracting cover.
As it is just a concept car, Nissan has at the moment announced no plans to bring it to full production, but watch this space…
