Nissan Motor Corp., Ltd. announced that during the Tokyo Motor Show in October, it will be unveiling its latest and highly innovative small van concept, which it calls the NV200. The concept turns the conventional light commercial design inside out.

This small van concept was jointly designed and developed by the Nissan Design Center in Japan and Nissan Design Europe (NDE), which is situated in Paddington, London. Both teams initially had no idea on hat form the concept van should take so they just designed a radical, futuristic, but a very practical new concept.

Shiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. said, “A light commercial vehicle has a specific job to perform, but that’s no reason to design a purely rational vehicle with no warmth. For NV200, function becomes the aesthetic. Our concept is a highly efficient tool but one with a human touch.”

The most striking feature it has is its storage pod which runs from the load area of the van when the vehicle is parked. When the pod is deployed, the now empty load bay is converted into a mobile office. . Although NV200 answers the specific needs of a professional underwater photographer with ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ storage zones in the pod for diving and camera equipment, the basic concept could be tailored to suit different customers.

When the van is being driven, the pod is fastened to the load area. But when the van reaches its destination, it slides out reaerwards to allow easy access to the storage zones. When the pod is taken from the van, the area that it left will be transformed into a mobile office. The front passenger seat swivels backwards on a curved rail to face a computer table, which drops down from the side of the van.

“The NV200 continues the excitement of the brand and demonstrates new design directions and potential future technologies. We are refreshing our brand with products that consistently reinforce our commitment to thrilling performance and design. This concept provides an early indication of the bold and thoughtful Nissan light commercial vehicles which will be present in the Middle East”, commented Reza Alavi, Head of Light Commercial Vehicles Business Unit at Nissan Middle East.

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