Nissan Says IMx EV Will Enter Production In A “Few Years”

Nissan executive design director Mamoru Aoki has revealed the IMx concept will eventually go into production.

Speaking with Autocar, Aoki said “The IMx is not just a concept car. In a few years, it will appear [in production].” The designer went on to described the electric crossover as a “breakthrough model.”

The IMX concept was originally unveiled at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show and was recently updated for the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The latest version of the concept has a mostly revised exterior with a dark gray paint job, an updated grille and black wheels.

Bigger changes occurred underneath the skin as the Geneva concept was equipped with Nissan’s Brain-to-Vehicle technology. The system reads a driver’s brain wave activity and looks for signs that they are about to “initiate a movement – such as turning the steering wheel or pushing the accelerator pedal.” When this is detected, the concept can initiate the action “0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the driver, while remaining largely imperceptible.”

Sticking with the technology theme, the concept is fully autonomous thanks to a “future version” of Nissan’s ProPILOT system. When autonomous driving mode is selected, the steering wheel retracts into the dashboard and reclines all seats to provide the driver with additional space.

The production version will likely eschew these futuristic features but the electric powertrain should carryover. In the concept, there were two electric motors which provided all-wheel drive as well as a combined output of 429 hp (320 kW) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque. The concept was also equipped with a “high-capacity battery” which enabled the model to travel more than 372 miles (600 km) on a single charge.