As far as New Year’s resolutions go, losing weight is a common one and now it’s become an automakers’ favorite, too.
Nissan is keen on sticking by its own; that is, work hard to significantly reduce the weight of its passenger car range this year and beyond.
The “Lightweighting Program” is set to produce a pioneering prototype material structure, meant to be used in the floor of their future models. In order to achieve this, Nissan will use the types of materials and techniques that are widely used in motorsport as well as the aerospace industry.
Even before that, Nissan’s new approach has resulted in a 90kg (198 lbs) weight loss for the X-Trail and 40kg (88 lbs) for the new Qashqai.
“The next 12 months promise to bring not resolutions, but revolutions, as the brand marches forward with yet more ‘Innovation That Excites’. This program is another demonstration of our commitment to developing the cars of tomorrow, today.”, said the brand’s VP of vehicle design & development David Moss.
“We know the cars of the future will need to be lighter, stronger and more efficient, that is why we are launching our prototype program in collaboration with research and industry bodies across the UK. It intends to produce a new manufacturing process that will revolutionize the industry.”
With these efforts, Nissan is looking to improve performance, fuel consumption and counteract the weight of the increasing amount of technology being built into modern-day vehicles.
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