NISSAN electric vehicle for the elderly

October 25, 2006 The world’s largest Electric Vehicle symposium, the 22nd International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition (EVS22), opened this week in Yokohama, Japan. First EV off the rank was Nissan with a line-up led by the X-TRAIL FCV 2005 (pictured top left). Nissan has a long EV association, having built its first electric car, the Tama EV (bottom right), in 1947 and the world’s first lithium-ion battery powered vehicle, the Prairie Joy Electric Vehicle, in 1996. Two interesting EV concepts on the Nissan stand were the Hypermini (top right – an ultra-small two-seater 100 km/h urban commuter with an aluminium space-frame, neodymium magnetic synchronous traction motor and high-performance lithium-ion batteries with a 115km range) and the Micro UV. The Micro (bottom left) is almost a story in itself, as it was developed by Nissan subsidiary Autech under the sponsorship of NEDO (the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization established by the Japanese government in 1980 to develop new oil-alternative energy technologies) specifically for Japan’s aging population. With the increase numbers of elderly drivers, this ultra-small electric vehicle is fitted with an active interface technology to support drivers with failing motor-ability and response-time that may impair their driving capability.

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