Nissan Hypermini Urban Electric Vehicle (EV) 1999 - 2000

Since 1947 and the Tama electric car with replaceable lead-acid battery Nissan has been working on electric propulsion. The research vehicles were essentially production cars adapted to electric drive and batteries. The Nissan Hypermini is the first Nissan designed specifically for electric propulsion.

Overview of the Hypermini

Designed as an urban commuter car, the ultra-small Hypermini EV features a dedicated body construction with seating for two passengers. The body was built around a lightweight and highly rigid aluminum spaceframe, and the vehicle was fitted with a neodymium magnet synchronous traction motor and a high-performance lithium-ion battery system. These cutting-edge technologies enabled the Hypermini to provide a driving range of 115 km on a single battery charge during operation under Japan's 10-15 test mode and to attain a top speed of 100 km/h. (This driving range figure was measured in-house with the air-conditioning system turned off. The driving range varied depending on the road conditions, the weather and other factors.)
The Hypermini adopted a non-contact inductive charging system that was safe and simple to use. The batteries could be fully recharged in approximately four hours using a compact 200-volt AC charger.

The car was widely used in Japan and U.S., including at the University of California, Davis and a car-sharing project in Yokohama.

January 13, 2000 - Tokyo - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced that 20 units of its ultra-small Hypermini EV, were supplied to the Downtown Rental car System Verification Test Project, was put into a field trail. The project was promoted by the Association of Electronic Technology for Automobile Traffic and Driving (JSK) in Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district with the support of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the Japan Electric Vehicle Association. This trial involving experimental use of the Hypermini was scheduled to run from January 17 to March 17. The Nissan Hypermini was a petite two-seater EV that had been developed as an optimum urban commuter car. Announced in September 1999, it was scheduled to be released in February, with sales targeted principally at national government offices and agencies, local government bodies and corporations.

The public demonstration project was launched September 2000 by JSK, an auxiliary organization of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). It was intended to promote the development of application systems for EVs incorporating Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies and the popularization of EVs by conducting experimental trials. The results were to be used to build new transportation systems that emphasize environmental friendliness and user convenience. Other reasons cited include its use of a highly safe non-contact inductive charging system and its relatively long driving range.

Overview of the Downtown Rental Car System Verification Test Project

With this system, the operations control center in the MM21 district used ITS functions to detect vehicle positions and their operating status. In addition, two-way communication was carried out between the center and drivers so that suitable information could be transmitted to the vehicles. Vehicle rental and return operations were performed at unattended vehicle stations.

The Nissan Hypermini price was 38.000 US $ - 4.000.000 yen at the time

Wallpapers : Nissan Hypermini Urban Electric Vehicle (EV) - 1999 - 2000