Nissan's New IMk Concept Is a Kei Car Fit for the Future

Nissan will be presenting the Nissan IMk Concept at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. This modern kei car with an electric motor has been built to provide the "ultimate urban commuter" of the future.

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In Japan, these small city vehicles known as kei cars play an important role in transportation. The Nissan IMk Concept will be showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show and offers a glimpse of the future. The electric city runner is 3,434 mm long, 1,512 mm wide and 1,644 mm high. The minimalist design of the V-Motion grille at the front has been replaced with what resembles a shield. 

The equally reserved interior is designed to provide a relaxing setting through its use of fabrics, dark floor carpeting, wooden slats and a bench-style seat. The vehicle's physical controls have been replaced with touch-sensitive surfaces with displays. Driving information is shown on a frameless prism display, while other messages appear on holographic displays.

The fully automated Nissan IMk provides complete connectivity

The Nissan provides full connectivity and can automatically adjust the seat position, interior lighting and climate controls to the passengers' liking by linking to their smartphones. The vehicle's navigation system takes variables such as traffic congestion into consideration when providing the best departure time. Its Nissan I2V technology (Invisible-to-Visible) can merge information from the immediate surroundings with data from the cloud to provide a view of the vehicle's periphery. Automated driving features and services have been implemented to provide additional driving comfort, such as the smartphone-enabled "ProPILOT Remote Park" feature that can search for a parking space automatically after you and your passengers step out of the car.

Satoru Tai, executive design director at Nissan, has called the vehicle "a small EV for a new era". Nissan has not yet released any technical data relating to the electric motor. However, it is said to "deliver excellent acceleration and a high level of responsiveness".