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Nissan Leaf to be produced in Japan, UK and US

April 5, 2010 at 12:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Nissan

Nissan has released a couple of new videos and photos of the new Nissan Leaf in conjunction with the Leaf’s launch. European market production will begin in 2013 at Nissan’s UK Sunderland plant. The Sunderland plant has received a total investment of over 420 million British Pounds for the production of the Leaf and its batteries. The UK government has given Nissan a business investment grant of 20.7 million British Pounds.

Two other locations will build the Leaf – Japan and the USA. The Japanese production center will be located at Oppama while the American plant will be in Tennessee. The Oppama plant will start up first later this year followed by the American plant in 2012 and finally the Sunderland plant in 2013.

Nissan calls the Leaf the world’s first affordable, mass produced zero emission car. It’s basically a 5-seater C-segment 5-door hatchback built on a dedicated EV platform and powered by a 80kW electric motor. With a rapid charger it can get up to 80% battery capacity. Its battery packs will take it up to 160km of ‘real world range’, and top speed isn’t too bad either at just over 140km/h.

Look after the jump for some photos and videos of the Leaf.
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Nissan to open design studio in Beijing, China

March 22, 2010 at 4:02 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under International News, Nissan

With increasingly saturated domestic markets, the world’s major carmakers are flocking to developing markets such as China and India, where car ownership figures still have plenty of room to grow. It therefore makes sense to have a base in these countries, to design, modify and manufacture cars according to local tastes. GM-SAIC’s PATAC facility on the outskirts of Shanghai is a great example of this – initially a “rebadging centre”, it’s now capable of full vehicle development (Chevrolet Sail) and even concept cars (Buick Business Concept).

Now, Nissan has announced that it will establish a design studio in Beijing. Scheduled to open early 2011 in the Chao Yang district, it will be the first design facility in China by a Japanese automaker. The studio will be part of Nissan’s global network of design centers, which includes two facilities in Japan (Atsugi and Harajuku), one in America (San Diego) and one in London, UK. Nissan’s Chinese subsidiary will invest RMB 11.76 million (US$ 1.7 million) to set it up.

“With the addition of 20 designers, Nissan’s new studio will enhance our design capabilities, as well as our product competitiveness in China and Asia where the automotive industry continues to see robust growth,” said Shiro Nakamura, Nissan’s chief creative officer and senior vice president of design.

“Locating the studio where our customers live and work allows us to best respond to their needs and design vehicles that exceed their expectations.” Nakamura-san also added that the Chinese capital’s expanding design community made it a “natural choice” over rival cities such as Shanghai.

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Hyundai’s top US marketing man jumps to Nissan

March 22, 2010 at 8:52 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Hyundai, International News, Nissan

Nissan North America has “captured” Hyundai America’s top marketing man. Joel Ewanick, who was vice president of marketing at the Korean company, is credited with the effective Hyundai Assurance Program, where Hyundai buys back cars from customers who lose their jobs. While at Hyundai, he earned accolades including Chief Marketing Officer of the Year (2009) from Forbes, Grand Marketer of the Year (2009) from Brandweek and Marketer of the Year (2009) from Advertising Age.

Ewanick has been named vice president, Marketing, Nissan Division, effective March 22. He succeeds Christian Meunier, whose appointment as president, Nissan Brazil, was announced Feb. 5. In his new role, Ewanick will be responsible for all facets of marketing activities for Nissan brand products in the US, including marketing communications, C&I, pricing and product management.

Before joining Hyundai, Ewanick held executive positions at the Hinckley Company – Monitor Clipper, Boston; Palmer Johnson LLC in Wisconsin; and Porsche Cars North America in Atlanta. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Northridge.

To sell well one needs good products, but skilled marketing people can draw in seemingly uninterested people, just like Hyundai did in a troubled 2009 where it was one of only three brands to record growth. Surely, this is a coup for Nissan.

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Nissan Leaf production on-track, sales start this year

March 19, 2010 at 12:42 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Nissan

Every carmaker has an electric car “planned”, but most of these concepts are what they are – concepts – and few actually “walk the talk”. However, some of them mean business. Mitsubishi is a pioneer in putting EVs on the road with the i-MiEV, which will also sell in Europe with Peugeot and Citroen badges.

Renault-Nissan is also betting big time on an electric future – the Alliance aims to be the world leader in electric vehicles and will roll out 500,000 units per year across the globe from 2012. Designed to be affordable and mass market, Renault’s Z.E family of EVs and Nissan’s Leaf are on track to “electrify” the industry.

Nissan has announced that its Leaf will be made in Sunderland, UK, joining two other manufacturing hubs for the EV. Production will begin in Oppama, Japan later this year followed by Smyrna, Tennessee, USA in 2012. Sunderland will come on-line in early 2013 with an initial annual production capacity of about 50,000 units. Also, construction of Nissan’s advanced lithium-ion battery plant will begin next month. The facility, which will be located at Sunderland, will have a production capacity of 60,000 units per year. It will start supplying battery packs to Renault and Nissan come 2012.

To go on sale later this year, the Leaf is a zero-emissions EV powered by an 80kW electric motor. It has a real world range of 160 km and charges to 80% capacity in under 30 minutes. Top speed is “more than 140 km/h”, so this is not a city-only vehicle. Billed as the “world’s first affordable, mass produced zero emission car”, the Leaf is a five-seater C-segment hatchback sitting on an all-new dedicated EV platform. Will it come to Malaysia in the future? Possible, since the official pictures show a right-hand drive car, but it’s not easy for car companies to plan ahead when our country doesn’t have a clear roadmap on green cars and technology.

Click here for videos and images of the Nissan Leaf.

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Nissan starts March production in Thailand

March 15, 2010 at 2:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

Nissan Motor Thailand (NMT) has announced that the new Nissan March will be the first model offered for sale under Thailand’s “eco-car” program, created to encourage the development of energy-efficient vehicles. Still fresh from its Geneva debut, production has started and the car will be launched at the Bangkok motor show on March 26.

Designed to appeal to both developed and emerging markets, the March is built on a new platform. It will come with a new 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder engine with 78 bhp/108 Nm. Nissan’s Thai dealers have begun accepting bookings, and vehicle delivery will start within a few weeks for the five-speed manual version. The CVT variant will reach buyers in June. The price range is from 375,000 baht to 537,000 baht.

Our northen neighbour will join China, India and Mexico as global manufacturing hubs for the March (known as the Micra in some markets), which ultimately will be offered in 160 countries. NMT will export the March to countries in the Asian and Oceania markets, according to Toshiyuki Shiga, COO of Nissan Motor Co.

As a recap, to obtain eco car status, a car has to achieve at least 20 km/l and emit less than 120g/km of CO2. Engine capacity must not exceed 1.3 litres if petrol-powered and 1.4 litres for diesels. The manufacturer is rewarded with a 50% cut in excise duty, no income tax for eight years and no import duty for factory machinery imports.

Live images of the March from the Geneva show is after the jump.
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Mother Trucker now even more powerful – 190 PS!

March 10, 2010 at 11:00 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

Nissan has given its Navara and Pathfinder a mid-life facelift. The Navara is basically the pick-up version of the Pathfinder SUV and vice versa. It’s somewhat like the relationship between the Triton and the Pajero Sport, or the Hilux and the Fortuner.

Nearly all body on frame pick-ups have body on frame SUVs as counterparts, including the Isuzu D-MAX. It’s just that the Pathfinder and the Thai-built D-MAX-based Isuzu MU-7 are not sold here in Malaysia.

The ‘mother trucker’ is the largest and most powerful body on frame pick-up you can buy here in Malaysia. The facelift gives it a more powerful engine. The 2.5 litre turbodiesel engine which already packs 174 PS and a massive 403Nm of torque in its current incarnation has actually been upgraded to 190 PS and 450Nm of torque with this new facelift, yet still consumes just 8.5 litres per 100km on the combined cycle while hauling around such a heavy vehicle.

Overseas, there is also a new more powerful diesel option – a new turbodiesel 3.0L V6 with 231 PS and a mind-boggling 550Nm. The V6 engine is quiet and refined and idles at a low 650rpm. As much as 500Nm starts to kick in from 1,500rpm before peak torque of 550Nm is reached at 1,700rpm. You can ride on this 550Nm peak all the way to 2,500rpm. Now that’s a seriously nice engine to be having but I suspect it’s actually a very new and modern engine that needs ‘modern diesel’ so I don’t think it will be available here. In fact it sounds exactly like the new 3.0 V6 that’s going into the European market Infiniti SUVs. But who knows, Tan Chong might surprise us!

And of course you have the cosmetic changes. The overall bumper design remains similiar but if you notice the new bumper is now more rounded and the edges rise up and blend into the wheel arches as one single piece while with the pre-facelift that’s sold here, there seems to be a ‘lower bumper’ piece and another upper piece which joins with the wheel arches.

There are also changes on the inside – revised door trims, new seat fabric, larger storage areas, the addition of chrome highlights, and revised dials. There is also the option for a touch screen system called Nissan Connect Premium complete with a 40GB hard drive for data storage. Our Navara currently uses a 6-CD changer.

Other than the new more powerful engines of course, something else that’s interesting to me is that the Electronic Stability Control that was previously only available on the Pathfinder has now been added to the Navara. The ECU uses feedback from wheel speed sensors, steering angle, and longitudinal and lateral G and yaw rates to anticipate and control wheel slippage.

This means that if Tan Chong’s product planners tick the right boxes on the option sheet, we could potentially have the only pick-up truck in Malaysia with stability control, which would be very good and increase appeal if it were to be used by an average Joe as a lifestyle vehicle.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the new facelifted trucks.
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Nissan Juke gets torque vectoring 4WD system

March 3, 2010 at 7:22 am By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Cars, Nissan

We really have to take our hats off to Nissan for bringing the wacky Qazana concept (shown here last year) to production as the Juke without watering it down much. As a younger sibling to the Qashqai crossover, the Juke is meant to be an alternative to the B-segment supermini class, just like how the Qashqai tempted many Golf/Focus to opt for something less conventional.

And it’s not just the looks that stand out, for the Juke has surprisingly advanced mechanicals when Nissan could have got away relying on just the funky styling. Three engines will be available when European sales start later this year: a 1.5 diesel and two 1.6-litre petrol units, all Euro 5 compliant. The range topping engine is a new turbocharged petrol engine with direct injection, producing 187 bhp and 240 Nm. Nissan claims “performance from a 2.5-litre engine with the economy of a smaller engine”.

The other petrol unit is the HR16DE that Malaysian Latio and Grand Livina owners are familiar with. Improved for the Juke, the 1.6-litre engine gets a unique dual-injection system which allows finer metering of the fuel sprays for better combustion. Other changes include a larger exhaust manifold, retuned intake manifold, twin VTC, improved intake tumble flow and new catalyst with a hexagon cell formation. New pistons with revised crowns and integral oil jet cooling have been adopted along with low friction techniques such as diamond-like carbon coating on the valve lifters. With all those tweaks, vital figures now stand at 115 bhp and 157 Nm from 108 bhp/153 Nm, while fuel efficiency is claimed to be much improved. Petrol engines come with either a six-speed manual or Nissan’s Xtronic CVT.

The range topping turbo variant gets Nissan’s All-Mode 4X4-i electronic system with a new function – lateral torque vectoring capability. This not only splits torque between front and rear axles, but from side-to-side across the rear axle as well. The system counts wheel speed, steering angle, yaw rate and lateral G to distribute torque, and is effective in reducing understeer. In total, up to 50% of total available engine torque can be sent to either rear wheel. The rear axle incorporates electric couplings at either end plus a new final-drive. So now when your BMW X6 owner friend boasts about his torque vectoring system, share with him this piece of news.

I took the chance to sit in the Juke and found the rear quarters to be quite tight compared to superminis like the Honda Jazz and Perodua Myvi/Daihatsu Sirion. I fit in, but six footers are sure to brush their heads against the headlining. The driver enjoys a nice steering wheel with sporty instruments, while the climate control screen is a full-colour unit incorporating readouts such as fuel consumption. Pleasing design, but dash plastics are hard.

UPDATE: Fresh live pictures added to the gallery, including headroom shots that some have requested for.

More live pictures after the jump.
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All New Nissan Micra unveiled at Geneva 2010!

March 3, 2010 at 12:36 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

Nissan’s new B-segment ‘Thai eco-car’ has been unveiled at the Geneva show today. Like previously revealed, it uses a new family of inline-3 engines that also surprisingly include supercharged and direct injection versions that will come later. But for now we’ll make do with the HR12, which produces 80 PS and 108Nm.

Nissan Micra

The supercharged direct injection model will come later and that one will make 98 PS and 142Nm, the equivalent of a 1.4 to 1.5 litre engine. Both engines will be mated to either a 5-speed manual or a new CVT transmission. At least that’s what the planned offering in Europe is. Nissan has been known to swap out a CVT for a regular 4-speed auto. But since the new CVT has been touted as one of the main features of this new Micra, perhaps if it ever comes to Malaysia from the Thailand plant, we might get it with the CVT.

Nissan Micra

The new Micra sits on Nissan’s new V-platform. It was designed and tested in Japan, and Nissan has planned for four different production hubs for the car around the world. Thailand will definitely be one of them, and the other three sites are expected to be India, Mexico and China. Despite being a small car, the safety options that can be equipped is extensive, including ABS, ESP, dual front airbags, curtain airbags, and side airbags. In Europe, ALL of these will be STANDARD.

Look after the jump for hi-res images and a video of the new Micra.
[Read more...]

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Teaser vid reveals details of new Nissan compact

February 16, 2010 at 6:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Nissan, Videos

Nissan March Sketch

A new Nissan compact car will be unveiled at the Geneva show at the end of this month, and Nissan has given us a preview of what they will be launching in the form of a video that shows interviews of members of the project team.

Some juicy details revealed include the fact that the car will be powered by a new 1.2 litre 3-cylinder engine, although both 3-cylinders and 4-cylinders were considered at first. According to Nissan, it was “obvious” that the 3-potter delivered the best balance of performance, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness. This new engine will also be mated to a new CVT transmission that uses a sub-planetary gear. All these new components will sit on a new platform called the “V-platform”.

Nissan March Spyshot

This new compact car will be none other than the new Nissan March/Micra and we’ve actually already seen spyshots of this car (shown above) – and they seem to match the previously released sketches (shown at the top).

Check out the video below. You’ll have to put up with the team members going on and on about what a breakthrough the car is though. Nissan says sales of the production car will begin in Thailand in March, with European sales starting in the autumn. Wonder if a Thai introduction means ETCM are able to bring it in Malaysia anytime this year?

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Qazana-based Nissan Juke crossover revealed

February 12, 2010 at 10:39 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Nissan

What you see above is the 5-seater Nissan Juke crossover. It looks familiar because it is based on the Nissan Qazana concept that was previewed in Geneva last year. This crossover is underpinned by Renault-Nissan’s B-Platform and measures 4 meters long, 1,765mm wide and 1,570 meters tall. Its wheelbase measures 2,500mm. This makes it a size smaller than the Rogue/Qashqai/Dualis.

The crossover (which looks a little weird if you ask me) will be sold in Europe, Japan and in the United States. There are several engine options including a 1.6 litre normally-aspirated engine with 117hp and a turbocharged version of the engine that can output 190hp and 240Nm of torque. Diesel fans don’t worry as Nissan also has a 110hp 1.5 litre dCi unit for the Juke. This unit also produces 240Nm of torque.

Transmission wise potential buyers can choose between a 5-speed manual cog box or a continuously variable transmission. Apart from a standard front wheel drive setup buyers can also opt for an ALL-MODE 4×4-i system. The Juke will premier at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, till then you can feast on some images after the jump.
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