Nissan Motors, the industry leader responsible for the very well regarded Nissan LEAF electric vehicle, will be unveiling a new electric concept car — by the name of “the Teatro” — at the fast-approaching Tokyo Motor Show, according to recent reports.
Beyond the date for the reveal (the show is on October 29) and a few concept renderings, not much is yet known about the electric vehicle (EV) concept, so there’s not too much to say here…. That said, I can’t help but see the Chevy Bolt in these images — or is that just me?
I think this is an interesting idea to consider, as with Chevy’s rather aggressive plans for a Bolt release late next year, the company will more or less have the sector to itself, won’t it? And why would Nissan want that to happen? Enter, the Teatro… (I hope a better name is devised if the concept does end up going to production.)
Considering it’s an EV, though, the things that I most want to know about it are what the range is and what sort of electric drivetrain will be featured.
A parting gift here, for those impatient for October 9, is a description of the concept car in Nissan’s own words (thanks Electrek):
“Call it a vehicle. Call it a hi-tech device. Call it the lifestyle driver of the future.”
Hmm… Autonomous functions then, I presume?
That would certainly give the company an advantage over Chevy with regard to the Bolt EV if the Teatro were released as a production model. In the real world, everything would of course depend upon timing, though. My best guess would simply be that such inclusions are for PR purposes — after all, how soon can we reasonably expect to see autonomous production cars on the market? There are still legal hurdles, as well as technological ones, in the way of that achievement. I would guess that it’ll be at least 5 years before one hits the market, probably longer.
Image Credits: Nissan Motors