The last year has not been easy for Nissan Motor Corporation. It started with the scandal involving disgraced former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested by Japanese authorities in November 2019 on charges of alleged financial misconduct. A number of key allies of Ghosn subsequently resigned from the company as a result of the scandal. 2019 sales for Nissan USA have also lagged, including a total sales decline of 15.9% year-over-year in November compared to November 2018. This included a drop of 33.4% in sales of Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti cars and SUVs. This was the third straight month in which sales declined compared to the prior year, which was especially disappointing in light of the fact that 2018 was a relatively strong year for Nissan USA, which had posted a sales increase of 7.6% over the prior year.
Nevertheless, there are some positive signs. Nissan’s Board of Directors has gotten out in front of the Ghosn scandal, conducting its own thorough investigation into any alleged financial wrongdoing. New representative executive officer, president, and CEO Makoto Uchida succeeded former CEO Hiroto Saikawa in December, and is taking steps to turn things around at Nissan. In this regard, the company is embracing the concept of Intelligent Mobility to drive the company forward into the new decade, and make it more competitive, particularly in the lucrative American market. As the company makes clear in its mission statement, “we have what it takes to build cars and trucks with the power to change both the way you view the world and the way you move in it.”
Nissan Intelligent Mobility
The phrase Nissan Intelligent Mobility may sound like just another marketing slogan meant to get you to buy a car. However, it is actually Nissan’s strategy, leveraging the technological breakthroughs made by its design teams, and applying them throughout the product line. The goal is to create a suite of integrated smart technologies that improve safety, comfort, connectivity, and control of your Nissan vehicle. In many ways, it is applying artificial intelligence to an automotive vehicle, so that it can seem to think, communicate, learn, predict, and recharge along with you, the vehicle’s driver.
To date, the area that has seen the greatest application of Intelligent Mobility is in safety. Nissan has pioneered the Safety Shield 360, a comprehensive group of smart technologies designed to make Nissan vehicles among the safest on the road today. This has included ProPILOT Assist, which makes small steering and braking adjustments that improve your driving, especially in heavy traffic. The ProPILOT Park system helps you easily maneuver your Nissan into even the tightest spots, which is especially important to people living in urban or ex-urban areas with crowded parking lots. Other examples of smart technology in the Safety Shield 360 system include automatic emergency braking, rear automatic braking, Nissan intelligent blind spot intervention, Nissan intelligent lane intervention, rear cross traffic alert, Nissan intelligent around view monitor, Nissan intelligent back-up intervention, intelligent trace control, and active ride control. The available traffic sign recognition system can identify hard to spot speed limit signs, allowing you to adjust the speed of your Nissan accordingly.
Nissan has also applied the Intelligent Mobility technology to other areas. Nissan has introduced the Nissan e-Pedal for zero-emission vehicles, which allows you to drive with just one pedal. The system will accelerate when the pedal is depressed, and then will utilize automatic regenerative braking when you remove your foot from the pedal. Depressing the pedal again will go back to acceleration.
The best part about Nissan Intelligent Mobility is that you don’t have to wait to try out many of these features. The fully-redesigned 2019 Nissan Altima was the first truly smart car in the Nissan lineup, but will not be the last. You can even stop by your local Nissan dealership to try out the features on the 2019 Nissan Altima through Tech Drive 360 VR experience, which uses virtual reality to introduce you to the car.
A Full Lineup of Vehicles For All Wants and Needs
Nissan has been integrating many of the features of Safety Shield 360 into its vehicles, showing its commitment to Intelligent Mobility. If you are in the market for an SUV or a crossover, Nissan offers six models, the Kicks, Rogue Sport, Rogue, Murano, Pathfinder, and Armada, so there is sure to be one to fit your lifestyle. If you prefer a sedan, you can choose from the Versa, Sentra, Altima, and Maxima. If sports cars are your thing, then you should consider the 370Z, Nissan CT-R, and the 370Z Roadster. For truck enthusiasts, Nissan offers the Frontier, and the all-new Titan and Titan XD. You can go green and buy a Nissan Leaf, one of the most futuristic and intelligent EVs on the road today.
Nissan even offers a full line of commercial vehicles, including the NV Cargo, NV 200 Compass Cargo, and the NV Passenger. Nissan applies Intelligent Mobility to make each of these vehicles drive smart, while also looking smart.
2020 Redesigns of Classic Nissan Vehicles
The new decade will herald in the introduction of redesigns to three classic Nissan models. The all-new 2020 Nissan Sentra exhibits sharp aerodynamic lines, a gorgeous and roomy interior, and standard Nissan Safety Shield 360, which shows the company’s commitment to the safety of its customers. The new Sentra has been crafted to provide a sporty, curve-hugging ride that makes the sedan feel more like a sports car than a compact. The designers have even placed the Nissan Connect touchscreen in a convenient and easily accessible location, high up on the center dashboard. The 2020 Nissan Sentra shows how Nissan is applying its strategy of Intelligent Mobility to its product line.
Nissan is also introducing re-designs of its popular Nissan Titan and Nissan Titan XD trucks for 2020. Aside from exterior and interior styling updates, Nissan has made a powerful engine standard in both trucks. The Nissan Endurance 5.6-liter V8 with a new 9-speed automatic transmission is rated to produce up to 400 horsepower and 413lb-ft of torque, making it the strongest standard engine in its class of pickup trucks. Nissan has also made Safety Shield 360 safety features standard on the Titan and Titan XD, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. To show its commitment to Intelligent Mobility, Nissan has given the Titan and Titan XD an all-new integrated command center. This can sync your mobile devices to the truck’s system on a 9-inch touchscreen. The system also includes a USB-C port and Bluetooth technology.
Smart Concepts for the Future
Maybe the recent down years have spurred Nissan to action. Maybe the marketplace has caught up to Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility designs. Whatever the reason, Nissan Motors is not content to rest on its current lineup. The future will bring a number of new models and ideas from the company. On the horizon is a new model truck, the Titan Warrior, set to offer an off-road experience like no other for truck enthusiasts. For people who love smaller trucks, Nissan is preparing a Frontier Diesel, which will improve fuel efficiency and power in that truck. Nissan will also expand its EV offering to include the Ariya electric SUV, a big brother to the popular Nissan Leaf. As Nissan Chief Operating Officer Yasuhiro Yamauchi points out, “The Ariya Concept is not a concept car designed from far off ideas, but rather a car that embodies Nissan Intelligent Mobility at its core and highlights a promise of an entirely new driving experience on the horizon.” The Ariya will be an all-wheel drive electric crossover with driver assistance technologies. The striking new look of the Nissan Ariya points toward the future while maintaining the classic lines we all know and love about Nissan SUVs.
Nissan is already looking to the future as it develops SAM, Seamless Autonomous Mobility. SAM uses artificial intelligence with remote human support to improve driverless vehicles, making them safer and smarter. One of the most incredible things about SAM is that each driverless vehicle in the SAM system will be able to share information, improving safety, and allowing each SAM vehicle to perform smoothly on the road.
Nissan Intelligent Mobility is the future today. Nissan has moved past the problems of the recent past, and is ready to move strongly, smartly, and intelligently into the new automotive decade.
