Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




CAR TECH
Nissan to unveil electric sports car at Tokyo Motor Show
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 08, 2013


Nissan said Friday it would unveil a sporty concept electric vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show as Japan's number-two automaker presses on with its bid to tap the burgeoning green-car market.

The company, which has been selling its Leaf electric vehicle since late 2010, said it hoped its Nissan BladeGlider would help it reach a market of male drivers who still want performance and styling in an environmentally friendly car - a major hurdle to widespread commercial sales.

The car, to be unveiled at the biennial Tokyo exhibition later this month, features an aerodynamic design that widens from the front to back with space for a driver in the middle and two passengers in the rear.

The design -- one metre in the front (3.3 feet) and 1.89 metres at the back and made with lightweight carbon fibres -- puts the vehicle's centre of mass on the rear tires to allow for tighter turns, Nissan said.

"The driver's seat has been positioned in the middle of the vehicle to give a sense of a pilot in an airborne glider," Nissan said.

The concept vehicle is squarely aimed at moving into a higher-end electric vehicle market already tapped with some success by US-based Tesla.

This week, Toyota said it planned to unveil its latest fuel-cell concept car at the Japanese show, which runs from November 20 to December 1, with an expected commercial rollout two years away.

A total of 177 exhibitors will be at the show, including Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot.

The world's major automakers have been working on various green vehicles -- from electric cars to zero emission fuel-cell models -- for a market that still remains tiny.

However demand for lower-emission vehicles is forecast to grow, with further technological advances in the field seen as crucial due to toughening emissions standards.

Range, performance, re-fuelling infrastructure and relatively high prices have proved major hurdles to widespread sales of green vehicles.

Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has been a major promoter of electric cars and vowed to press on despite lacklustre demand so far.

The Japanese firm has invested about 4.0 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in electric car development in a partnership with French carmaker Renault, which owns more than 40 percent of Nissan.

This week, Renault-Nissan announced an electric car tie-up with Mitsubishi.

Nissan said it has sold more than 80,000 Leaf electric vehicles globally since its rollout three years ago, a fraction of the 4.9 million cars it sold worldwide in its last fiscal year.

The Japanese automaker will also be showing off its second commercial electric vehicle, the e-NV200 minivan, which it unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

.


Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








CAR TECH
Japanese automakers step on profit accelerator
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 06, 2013
Japanese automakers are stepping on the profit accelerator as a weak yen, recovering US demand and the fading impact of a consumer boycott in China boost their bottom line. The sector's buoyant half-year results underscore a firm recovery after the 2011 quake and tsunami devastated sales and production, and highlight a rebound in demand from some key markets. However a sharp decline in t ... read more


CAR TECH
Highly stable quantum light source for applications in quantum information systems

Quantum 'sealed envelope' system enables 'perfectly secure' information storage

London Metal Exchange announces warehouse shake-up

Monkeys use minds to move two virtual arms

CAR TECH
Raytheon expands international footprint of electronic warfare capability

Latest AEHF Comms Payload Gets Boost From Customized Integrated Circuits

Northrop Grumman Receives Contract to Retrofit Joint STARS Fleet

Latest AEHF Comms Payload Gets Boost From Customized Integrated Circuits

CAR TECH
ASTRA 5B lands in French Guiana for its upcoming Ariane 5 flight

Kazakhstan say Baikonur launch site may be open to Western countries

ESA Swarm launch postponed

Europe's fifth ATV for launch by Arianespace begins its pre-flight checkout at the Spaceport

CAR TECH
How pigeons may smell their way home

UK conservationists using location-based system ManagePlaces

A Better Way to Track Your Every Move

China's satellite navigation system to start oversea operation next year

CAR TECH
Boeing and Kongsberg Defense Systems Complete Joint Strike Missile Check on FA-18 Super Hornet

New Boeing B-52 Upgrade to Increase Smart Weapons Capacity by Half

NASA Researchers to Flying Insects: 'Bug Off!'

First harbor trial completed for Australian helicopter docking vessel

CAR TECH
Synaptic transistor learns while it computes

Nanoscale engineering boosts performance of quantum dot light emitting diodes

JQI team 'gets the edge' on photon transport in silicon

Atomically Thin Device Promises New Class of Electronics

CAR TECH
Global map provides new insights into land use

Sensor Payloads Lift Off With Availability of Complete Hyperspectral Airborne Solution

Seeing in the dark

Researchers Turn to Technology to Discover a Novel Way of Mapping Landscapes

CAR TECH
200 million people at risk from toxic pollution: environmentalists

Girl, 8, is China's youngest lung cancer case

China climate negotiator laments 'severe' pollution

Gold mining ravages Peru




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement