Africa Automotive News September-October digital issue 2019

Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Navigant
Research, said a crossover EV is the right
move for Nissan.
“The market is more likely to want an
electric crossover in 2021 than it is in
2019,” Abuelsamid said.
Squandered lead
With a 300-mile range, the planned
vehicle would be competitive in the
nonpremium EV market, said Ed Kim, an
analyst with AutoPacific.
“The importance of range among EV
buyers cannot be overstated,” Kim said.
“Range is one of the top reasons people
reject electric vehicles.”
With a 300-mile range at a “mainstream
price point,” Nissan’s EV will be
competitive with Ford’s upcoming
Mustang-inspired crossover and Tesla’s
Model Y, Kim said.
Review
Nissan was first to market a batterypowered
vehicle with its Leaf hatchback
in 2010. But critics say the automaker
squandered its lead by failing to update
the vehicle’s powertrain and design
quickly and aggressively enough.
The Leaf, while promoted as a feasible
family car, was hobbled by a range of
less than 100 miles in its early years. Not
until this year did Nissan deliver a Leaf
with a competitive 226-mile range.
Inside, Nissan’s IMx concept focuses on
flexibility
Nissan also stuck with a single body
style for most of a decade. The second
generation launched in 2017 with a
carryover platform wearing mostly new
sheet metal and glass, but with its range
bested by the Chevrolet Bolt EV that
launched before it.
Abuelsamid said that by 2015, the
compact hatchback segment was
shrinking. “They should have had some
alternative body style — even based
on the same platform — to offer to
consumers.”
The new crossover is loosely based on
the IMx concept that Nissan unveiled at
the 2017 Tokyo auto show. A closerto-production
concept is expected to be
shown next month at the Tokyo show.
The specifics of its battery capacity were
not disclosed at the dealer meeting.
Based on the range, the crossover could
have a 75 to 85 kilowatt-hour battery.
Digital dashboard
One dealer who saw the vehicle told
Automotive News that it has a roomy
passenger cabin, with a “futuristic” look
that is “like nothing on the market.”
The cockpit features a digital dashboard
that stays hidden until the vehicle is
turned on.
“When you get in the car, all you see is
a pulsating start button,” a dealer said.
Pushing the start button brings the highresolution
display to life.
The design reflects an industry trend to
use touch-sensitive buttons in place of
traditional dials and knobs. Like the new
Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model 3, the
Nissan crossover has a dashboard devoid
of physical buttons.
The production version of the crossover
has a shorter hood than the IMx concept,
dealers said.
ProPilot 2.0
The crossover should receive the next
generation of Nissan’s ProPilot semiautonomous
driving technology. The
new iteration, available first in Japan,
promises no-hands, auto-navigating
highway driving from on-ramp to offramp,
with the ability to automatically
pass cars along the way. The 2.0
version makes advances over the firstgeneration
ProPilot, which doesn’t allow
for hands-free driving or take orders
from the navigation system to drive to a
destination.
But before the 2.0 system can be offered
in the U.S., Nissan must obtain detailed
digital mapping of the United States. The
technology relies on 3D, high-definition
highway maps for centimeter-level
precision. Nissan’s U.S. tech center is
testing ProPilot 2.0 for local needs.
September-October issue l 2019
Africa Automotive News l 2019 37