Judgment Day for Nissan

On the 2nd of August 2009, just after 10:18am at Nissan’s new Headquarters in Yokohama, their new EV, the LEAF, was driven on stage to a waiting of audience of VIP’s, Journalists and invited family members of Nissan employees. All of them got to see, for the first time, what the cover of Nissans EV story looked like. And every one of them made an instant opinion, of whether they liked it or not- it was thus Nissan EV’s Judgment day.

Now over two weeks on, you have probably consumed and digested all the news and details about the Nissan LEAF? Maybe you even caught the excellent video on EV World, of the LEAF (Lithium powered Environmental Affordable Family car), driving on the road? And from all of this you too have made up your mind, as to whether you like the LEAF and whether it will be your next car or not? As for me, to be honest, it has taken me a lot longer than expected to form an opinion. Not that I am lost for words, nor a very slow one-finger typist. It is just that I want to write a balanced view on the Nissan LEAF. For my view must take into account all my experiences with Nissan, by closely following their EV story for EV World. So it must not be just an opinion of what I saw on August 2nd. I must not, as the saying goes; judge a book by its cover but read through some of the Chapters- so let me explain!

Standing in the audience at Nissan’s new HQ and patiently waiting to see what their new EV looked like, as it was driven on stage, I was full of both hope and worry. For I dearly hoped to like what I saw, but it worried me that I would not! Much like a doting father waiting for his child’s first stage performance. I hoped that all the backstage time and effort I have seen Nissan put into this project, would not be forgotten by me. I was worried of how much a leap of faith Nissan are taking, For as Carlos Ghosn later said on August 2nd, “If this is a risk for Nissan, then this is a risk I think is worth taking”. I was also worried about the size of the LEAF, from inspecting its chassis and drive train at a press briefing. It was interesting that it had grown in size from last years B-class Cube based ‘Proof of concept vehicle’, to a C-class Tida (Versa) ‘Engineering Mule’. This made it almost identical in size to the previous 2nd generation Prius and wider and taller than the current 3rd generation. I also hoped that its styling would right, as it can be a crucial part of the equation of success. Just like the cover of a book that browsing customers decided whether to stop and pick-up and read, or pass over and carry on to something more eye-catching.

Unfortunately, as I caught a glimpse of the LEAF’s outline and watched it been driven on stage, an element of disappointment grew that it was not the showstopper I had wished for. Interestingly, only minuets earlier, the LEAF’ Designer had dropped me a hint that his new baby was designed for the “World car market” and was a “Car for the Real world”. Maybe that was his way of saying he could not show the flair and sprit of adventure that was within his previous creation, the PIVO-2. Only last year I was granted the privilege of getting up close and personal with his concept vehicle. Even joining him as a passenger within the PIVO-2, while driving around Nissan’s test centre- quite a Fair ground ride. After this, I remember airing a dream of an idea to him, of what his next EV could be like! Could it retain some of the spirit of the PIVO-2 and perhaps mix it with the dynamic styling of the GTR sports car, with a dash of practicality from the Cube?

My desire to see an ultimate Nissan EV comes from not just the last two years of closely following their story for EV World, but also from 2002 after driving my first Nissan EV. However, their real EV story goes back much further, having started in 1947 with the Tama Electric Car. Then there was a long gap until their next Chapter in 1990, with the start of Lithium-ion research with Sony. This was followed by the release of the ‘Prairie EV’ in 1995, the worlds first Lithium-ion powered Electric car. Two years later, Nissan launched the Altra EV in America and in the same year displayed a concept two seat City Car, called the Hypermini. This brings me to my personal acquaintance with Nissan’s EV story, when in 2002 I test drove the production version of this Hypermini. It proved a dream to drive, with a smooth acceleration and an instant response, while sitting in the sparse but functional cabin. The external styling told a story of both fun and sophistication and it is still current today- some twelve years later.

In 2005 Nissans next Chapter, the PIVO, was written. It was a cute cartoon like small three seat car, which took the concept of an EV in a different direction- literally. You could argue that it was just an irreverent concept, but you would never mistake it for anything else other than a Pure Electric Vehicle. Two years later, Nissan decided to do a sequel called the PIVO 2, their Chapter Eight. This time their concept car had a more serous look as it included genuine technological advancements, which were a visual commitment to Nissans EV intent. Later that year, I interviewed for EV World, Minoru Shinohara the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of the Technology Development Division. He gave me an insight in to how the next few chapters of the Nissan EV story would pan out. He also outlined both the plot and some of characters that we would meet on the way. However he did not go into detail of what the cover would look like!

Not quite a chapter, but this could well be in the future as sister vehicles to the LEAF, are two Nissan EV concepts produced in 2007 and 2008. The first was the Mixim, a small two-seat sports car, shown at the Frankfurt 2007 Motor Show. The second was displayed at the Paris Show last year, called the NUVU; it represented what a small 2+1 City car would be like.

Nissan’s Chapter Nine of their EV story, came about this time last year with their ‘proof of concept vehicle’ the EV-01 based on the Japanese market Cube. Although we were only allowed one lap of Nissans test track, it was prove enough that Nissan were creating something special. It had a genuine potential to be a true mass production EV, with a driving experience that put a smile on your face. With a low centre of gravity and an almost 50/50 weight-distribution, you could get it to safely squeal its all four of it’s tyres around a long sweeping bend.

Again not quite a new Chapter in their EV story, but a very thought provoking event, was a lecture given by Nissans Battery guru Hideaki Horie. For he has spent the last 19 years at the head of their Lithium-ion research and gave us no reason to doubt that Nissan had created a winner, as their battery technology was far superior to anyone else’s. This advantage was not only in the efficiency of charging (low build up of heat), but also in the way it discharged its power (wasting less stored energy). He also made one final statement, which was slightly shocking!! Such is the reliability of their technology that he was confident that their battery could last up to ten years in the Car. But after that, it was still more than capable of being an Energy storage unit that would revolutionize the world. In fact it would do nothing more than create the worlds next Industrial Revolution!

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