Nissan might not be planning on putting all its electric eggs in one basket with the upcoming LEAF. This week the company unveiled its “NISSAN New Mobility CONCEPT’ that takes the form of an ultra-compact 100 percent electric vehicle (EV) designed as a convenient mode of transportation for the increasing numbers of the elderly and single person households and also addresses the trend of driving short distance or in smaller groups.
Nissan says it will study the use of the two-seater vehicle for a variety of services including as a public transportation service linking public transport and EVs through the use of devices such as smartphones, in a “2-mode EV car sharing” scheme where the vehicle is used as a private commuter vehicle in the mornings and evenings and as a corporate car during business hours, and to provide improved mobility in both urban and tourist locations.
Nissan hasn’t provided a lot of details about the vehicle, other than saying it is a 100 percent electric producing no local emissions and has maneuverability equivalent to a motorbike but with greater safety. The vehicle is based on Renault’s more futuristically dressed Twizy Z.E., with Nissan and Renault having formed an alliance in the form of a zero emission vehicle business unit aimed at providing economies of scale in the production of EVs for both companies.
Although Nissan has produced a prototype, which can be seen in action in the video below, the New Mobility CONCEPT is designed more to examine the ways in which EVs can be designed to suit the driving needs of the future so there’s no word on whether it will actually be put into production in the future.
