How will Nissan's new energy vehicle develop in the future? Learn more about e-POWER

There is no doubt that no one will doubt Nissan's engine technology. The VQ series engine has won the "Ward's Top 10 Engines" for 14 consecutive years. Since the birth of the first VQ engine in 1994, each VQ series engine has the same DNA. VQ engines are efficient, quiet, smooth, lightweight, highly compatible and highly reliable. Whether it is VQ20DE or VQ35DE, VQ series engines can be said to be the best proof of the four words "Technology Nissan". The new era VC-TURBO continues the powerful performance of the VQ series and once again won the "Ward's Top 10 Engines" recognition.

However, Nissan's strength in internal combustion engines does not overshadow its achievements in new energy. As early as 1947, 72 years ago, Nissan launched its first electric car. After the end of World War II, oil was very scarce, but electricity was abundant. The Japanese government encouraged the development of electric vehicles. Under policy encouragement, the Nissan Tama electric car was born, with a range of 97km and a top speed of 35.2km/h. This data may seem a little inferior today, but it must be considered that it was a model 70 years ago.

With Nissan's 70 years of experience in the R&D and manufacturing of electric vehicles, and more than 25 years of experience in the R&D and manufacturing of automotive batteries, Nissan's most representative product in the electric field, the Leaf, has always topped the global electric vehicle sales list. It currently has more than 400,000 owners around the world and maintains a record of 10 billion miles with zero major battery accidents.

The Leaf received a top safety recommendation from the IIHS and a five-star safety rating from the NHSTA. Even more amazing is that the 80kW synchronous drive motor on the Leaf was named one of the "Ward's 10 Best Engines" in 2011, and the Leaf was also named one of the "World's Best Cars" in 2011.

For Chinese consumers, Dongfeng Nissan has brought together the excellent genes of Leaf and Sylphy, adopted Nissan's E-Platform electric vehicle exclusive platform, and equipped with Nissan's professional three-electric system, and launched the Sylphy Pure Electric for Chinese consumers. In terms of safety, Sylphy Pure Electric has five-fold safety battery protection; in terms of energy consumption, it has achieved a low power consumption of 13.8kW·h/100km; at the same time, it is equipped with Nissan's E-control motor torque control technology, which can maintain stable power output at any power level, fast initial acceleration response and other advantages.

In terms of intelligence, the Sylphy Pure Electric is also equipped with 5 NISSAN i-SAFETY intelligent active safety systems, including the VSP pedestrian warning system, which reminds pedestrians of nearby vehicles to ensure pedestrian safety; IEB pre-collision intelligent braking monitors the driving speed and obstacles ahead, and promptly warns of danger and automatically brakes when necessary; LDW lane departure warning monitors the road lanes and issues warnings when the vehicle deviates from the driving lane; BSW lane change blind spot warning monitors vehicles coming from the side and rear blind spots of the vehicle, and promptly warns to prevent accidents; CTA reversing side warning monitors moving targets on both sides of the rear of the vehicle through radar when reversing.

Regarding Nissan's future development in the field of new energy, Hideyuki Sakamoto, President of the Japan Society of Automotive Engineers and Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor Corporation, introduced Nissan's latest e-POWER intelligent charging electric technology at the "2019 World New Energy Vehicle Conference".

What is e-POWER?

Nissan's e-POWER intelligent charging electric technology is based on the mature technology of Nissan LEAF. The powertrain integrates the gasoline engine, inverter, battery and motor. The gasoline engine is only responsible for power generation, so the engine can always maintain the best working condition, which can provide good fuel economy and lower emissions compared with traditional internal combustion engines.

The e-POWER system adopts full electric drive, which means that the wheels are driven entirely by the electric motor. Electricity from the high-output battery is delivered to the e-POWER's compact powertrain, which includes a gasoline engine, generator, inverter and electric motor.

In a conventional hybrid system, when the battery is low (or at highway speeds), a low-output electric motor cooperates with the gasoline engine to drive the wheels. However, in the e-POWER system, the gasoline engine is not connected to the wheels; it simply charges the battery. Unlike conventional electric vehicles, the power source in e-POWER comes from the engine, not just the battery.

What are the strengths of e-POWER?

The e-POWER system structure usually requires a larger motor and battery because the motor is the only direct power source to drive the wheels. Therefore, it is very difficult to install a large battery and motor in a compact car. However, Nissan has achieved battery motor minimization and weight reduction by developing a more responsive motor control method and optimizing energy management. Therefore, a smaller battery can be used on the e-POWER system than on the LEAF, but it provides the same driving experience as a pure electric vehicle.

Advantages of e-POWER

Models equipped with e-POWER have all the advantages of pure electric vehicles, providing huge instant torque, very good power response and acceleration smoothness, and the system runs very quietly. Because e-POWER relies less on the engine, it can be comparable to traditional hybrid vehicles in fuel efficiency, especially when commuting around town.

Look forward to it! e-POWER

In the field of new energy, with the introduction of power technologies such as Zero Emission and e-POWER, Dongfeng Nissan plans to launch four products equipped with e-POWER technology in 2022; in addition to the Sylphy Pure Electric that has been on the market, Dongfeng Nissan will also launch three new Zero Emission pure electric vehicles by 2022.

Car-viewpoint:

In the field of new energy, traditional manufacturers have unimaginable technical accumulation and rich technical routes. Nissan is a representative of strength. Both e-POWER and Zero Emission have demonstrated Nissan's strong strength. With the gradual introduction of Dongfeng Nissan, Chinese consumers will have more choices.