Nissan reveals van for the future

Nissan has revealed a highly innovative small van concept at Nissan Design Europe (NDE).

Called NV200 and due to be given its worldwide debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, the concept turns conventional light commercial design inside out… literally.

Its most striking feature is a storage pod which extends from the van’s load area when the vehicle is parked. As the pod is deployed, the now empty load bay is transformed into a mobile office.

The NV200 was jointly developed by Nissan Design Center in Japan and NDE, located in Paddington, London. By having no pre-conceived ideas about what form NV200 should take, the team has developed a radical, futuristic, but entirely practical new concept.

“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,” says Shiro Nakamura, senior vice president and chief creative officer at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

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.

The pod is latched inside the load area when the van is being driven. But upon arrival at its destination, it slides out rearwards to allow easy access to the storage zones. As the pod is withdrawn from the van, the area left behind is transformed into a mobile office.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.