Nissan Working On Several New Cars
Embattled automotive giant Nissan is facing a tough time. The company has been forced to lay off thousands of workers and cancel plans for increased battery production. Things are going so badly that some question how long Nissan can survive. But with new CEO Ivan Espinosa at the helm and promising new vehicles, hope endures, and one of those new vehicles has just been unofficially revealed through patent images discovered by Top Gear Philippines. The images were filed in China in September last year and officially registered exactly one month ago, suggesting that the sedan they depict will make production.
A New Design Language For A New Era
The boomerang-shaped headlights remind us of some Hyundai and Kia designs, while the lightbar at the rear calls to mind the Dodge Charger and Durango. And while we can’t see much detail in these images, the fastback shape indicates that this vehicle may play loose with the term “sedan,” likely appearing with a liftback tailgate like the latest Audi A5. This gives the vehicle the style and grace of a sedan with the cargo-carrying and loading abilities of a hatchback. More than that, we cannot be sure of yet, but this design conforms to the new language heralded by last year’s Beijing Auto Show concepts, which included a sedan with similar looks to this. That Nissan Evo concept was announced as a plug-in hybrid, and it’s likely that this new sedan would also avoid going all-electric.
Nissan’s New Sedan Will Be Cheap
Since we don’t know exactly what car this previews, it’s difficult to estimate the price. Its size is unclear from this filing, and both the Altima and the Sentra could do with a makeover. A new Maxima could also make a certain amount of sense, especially with the upcoming Leaf crossover filling the needs of those who need a taller vehicle. Until we hear something directly from Nissan, though, it’s too soon to get excited. The fact that the patent images were filed in China could mean that the car will never reach America, especially if it ends up being produced there, but it also means this shouldn’t carry an exorbitant price, and the U.S. market is in dire need of more affordable cars.
