As the automotive industry looks towards the future of urban mobility, Nissan has revealed a zero-emission concept vehicle designed for city use.
The IMk combines fully-electric power on an all-new EV platform, and a design that incorporates “Japanese DNA” to reflect the country’s heritage through interior styling and materials.
Nissan has been a pioneer in EV technology for more than 10 years. The Nissan Leaf was the first electric car introduced into the mainstream market and remains the world’s best-selling mass-market EV to date. The Nissan IMk concept builds on this with a pure electric compact vehicle designed for a segment that’s prevalent for built-up cities.
“As a small EV for a new era, the Nissan IMk is designed to be at home in sophisticated cityscapes as much as in traditional Japanese towns,” said Satoru Tai, executive design director at Nissan. “The IMk fuses a modern, clean look, driven by its Japanese heritage, with cutting-edge EV technology.”
The IMk’s looks and proportions reflect a minimal aesthetic, drawing on Nissan’s new design philosophy, called Timeless Japanese Futurism. Its cabin is described as “a new type of room that exudes the nature of a cafe or lounge. The bench-style seat, with a dimpled texture, promotes a relaxing, welcome space that gives the impression of sitting on a floating cloud.”
“We incorporated `Japanese DNA’ into the design of the IMk,” said Tai. “For example, the bumper, wheels, tires, windows, tail lamps, roof and high mount spoiler treatment borrow from the flowing patterns of mizuhiki, a thin twine made of Japanese rice paper.”
While its powertrain details were not revealed due to it being a concept, Nissan uses some additional technologies that are pointing towards smarter energy usage as the vehicle can integrate with a home energy system and use spare battery capacity to balance home energy needs, using Nissan Energy Share (Vehicle-to-Home).
“The IMk concept provides a glimpse of the new direction of Nissan Intelligent Mobility as technology evolves toward electrification and connectivity,” said Asako Hoshino, Nissan’s executive vice president overseeing global marketing and sales and the brand’s global EV business.
