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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
The concept vehicle is squarely aimed at moving into a higher-end electric vehicle market already tapped with some success by US-based Tesla.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A total of 177 exhibitors will be at the show, including Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Range, performance, re-fuelling infrastructure and relatively high prices have proved major hurdles to widespread sales of green vehicles.<\/p>\n
Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has been a major promoter of electric cars and vowed to press on despite lacklustre demand so far.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This week, Renault-Nissan announced an electric car tie-up with Mitsubishi.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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