Futuristic Nissan Hypermini Commuter Car At 2000 Future Car Congress

4 April 2000
Futuristic Nissan Hypermini Commuter Car At 2000 Future Car Congress

    ARLINGTON, Va., April 3 The first U.S. showing of the
award-winning Nissan Hypermini electric vehicle gives a glimpse of what is
possible in the future for advanced technology vehicles which provide enhanced
environmental and fuel economy performance.
    The Hypermini is one of the vehicles and technologies being displayed by
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. during the 2000 Future Car Congress sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Energy, April 2-6 in Arlington, Virginia.
    Other vehicles and technologies featured by Nissan include the Tino
HYBRID, the NEO HYBRID system (featured in the Tino model), and the Sentra CA
-- the world's cleanest gasoline fueled car.
    The Hypermini is a two-seat electric vehicle futuristically designed as
the ultimate urban commuter car.  Earlier this year, it won the "New Energy
Grand Prize" award sponsored by the New Energy Foundation, which is associated
with the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
    In receiving the award, the Hypermini was praised for its superb driving
performance and the company's efforts to familiarize the public with the car
through two field trials.
    The Hypermini features a lightweight, highly rigid aluminum spaceframe and
is fitted with a neodymium magnet synchronous traction motor and high
performance lithium-ion batteries.  It uses a non-contact inductive charging
system.  It takes about four hours to recharge the batteries using a 200-volt
AC charger.
    Testing in Japan showed the Hypermini has a driving range of 115 km (more
than 70 miles) on a single battery charge and a top speed of about 100 kph (62
mph).
    Also, being shown in the U.S. for the first time is the Tino HYBRID, a
tall wagon with a short body that delivers all-around superior performance and
was just introduced to the Japan market last month.  Its NEO HYBRID powertrain
system couples a gasoline engine with an electric traction motor delivering
more than 100% improvement in fuel economy when compared with a
gasoline-engine vehicle of the same class.
    The Sentra CA, introduced to the U.S. market in February, is the only
gasoline-fueled vehicle in the world to be certified by the California Air
Resources Board as meeting its Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV)
tailpipe standards and delivers zero-emission-vehicle equivalent emissions
performance.  The Sentra CA retails for $14,799.
    In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling,
engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing,
distribution and manufacturing.  More information on Nissan in North America
and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at
http://www.nissandriven.com or contact the corporate media line at 310-771-5631.

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