September 12 was ‘National Videogames Day’ in the USA and it’s been an annual event for a while. A guy named David Earle is said to have started the day in the early 1990s. There is confusion about the actual date as there is another date which is July 8.
Anyway, this year, Nissan celebrated ‘National Videogames Day‘ on September 12 with concept esports gaming chair sketches inspired by the Armada SUV, GT-R NISMO sportscar and all-electric Nissan LEAF.
With videogaming and esports now some of the fastest-growing activities on the planet, Nissan has invested in the trend. Earlier this year, the automaker inked partnerships with two of the most popular gaming teams in the world, Faze Clan and OpTic Gaming.
Esports players spend hours perfecting their skills, and gaming rigs are an essential part of each player’s identity. However, esports players often have to choose between aesthetics and comfort – but Nissan’s chairs could offer both. With decades of experience in seating comfort and design (with notable innovations like the Zero Gravity Seat found on many Nissan vehicles), these three conceptual designs are sure to draw the interest of gamers across the globe.
Nissan GT-R NISMO: Inspired by Nissan’s most iconic vehicle, this seat is constructed from lightweight carbonfibre and aluminium. Shaped like a racing seat for ultimate performance, it features red leather and synthetic suede seating surfaces.Nissan Armada: Inspired by Nissan’s full-size rugged but refined SUV, this seat is finished with Platinum Reserve black and brown leather upholstery and configured as a Captain’s Chair. It has climate-control (heating and cooling) so the player will stay comfortable for long hours. Lumbar support will also help keep fatigue away and maintain alertness.Nissan LEAF: This seat is inspired by the world’s best-selling electric vehicle and it has Gun Metal painted surfaces. The leather upholstery is light gray with electric blue inserts. USB charging ports are integrated in the frame for supplementary power and integrated leg rests help to reduce the strain on the lower body.
Currently, Nissan has no plans to build any of the chairs – it’s not in that business. But maybe some specialist in such products might be interested to team up and manufacture them. Wouldn’t you want one in your room?
Ten lucky customers who purchased and registered a new Nissan vehicle during the ‘Festive Bonanza Hari Raya’ campaign by Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) recently received a GINTELL DéSpace Star Massage Chair worth RM13,988 each.
The models purchased by the winners from various parts of the country during the campaign period in May and June 2019 were the Nissan X-Trail, Serena S-HYBRID, Navara and Almera.
Buy a new Nissan vehicle before the end of this year and you could win an apartment at The ERA, Duta North Kuala Lumpur.
‘Buy Car Win Home’ Grand Contest still ongoing
Additionally, each winner qualified for the ‘Buy Car Win Home’ Grand Contest where Nissan customers stand a chance to win a brand new 2+1 rooms serviced apartment (worth up to RM665,000) in The ERA, Duta North Kuala Lumpur.
This contest is a unique collaboration between ETCM and JKG Land Berhad. The ‘Buy Car Win Home’ Grand Contest started in December 2018 and ends on December 31, 2019. Customers who purchase and register a new Nissan vehicle during this period qualify with a contest entry.
Experience the all-electric Nissan LEAF
Incidentally, during this weekend and the next, ETCM is having the Nissan Electrifying Drive Carnival at selected Nissan showrooms across the nation. Members of the public can experience the latest Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling all-electric vehicle. Many attractive prizes can be won and there are also fun tech activities like the Tech Drive Virtual Reality Experience.
Folks around the planet have received some rather good and not so good news regarding the 2020 Nissan GT-R. The good news is that it’s coming with a host of upgrades that’ll give anyone a smile, but the not so good news is that it’s an upgrade, not a brand-new model like most of us had anticipated. (more…)
Mangrove habitats are important in nature’s ecosystem as they are capable of storing 4 times more carbon mass than tropical forests, thus reducing the amount of carbon dioxide, a gas that causes global warming, They are also known to help prevent erosion of coastal areas by stabilizing sediments with their dense roots and branch network, filtering pollutants and trapping rubbish that originated from land. Their presence along coastal areas has also been known to help reduce the impact of tsunamis.
Preserving the mangrove habitat is therefore important and recently, 61 participants involving Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) employees, Nissan family members and friends, worked together to plant 310 new mangrove trees to battle climate change in the near future.
Nissan Nurtures Nature campaign
The planting session was part of an effort to reconnect with nature and environmental awareness through ETCM’s 3rd series of Nissan Nurtures Nature campaign. It was held at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park and after the planting session, the participants also took the opportunity to clean the surrounding area and collected a total of 97 kgs worth of waste.
The mangrove areas are also home to a wide array of fishes and shellfish, including migrating birds. During a cruise along the Sungai Buloh River, participants were able to see many different types of birds including the globally endangered ‘Milk Stork’ (Myceteria Cinerea) and ‘Lesser Adjutant Stork’ (Leptoptilos Javanicus).
3R environmental philosophy: Reduce, Recycle and Reconnect
ETCM introduced Nissan Nurtures Nature in June 2018 to encourage customers and their families, business partners, non-profit organizations, as well as employees to join hands in creating positive and meaningful changes to the environment and communities centred on a 3R environmental philosophy: Reduce, Recycle and Reconnect.
Members of the public who wish to know more and receive updates about the Nissan Nurtures Nature campaign may contact ETCM’s Customer Relations Department at 03-4047 8788 or send an email request to crd@tanchonggroup.com.
The Nissan Serena is Nissan’s best-selling minivan that’s sold all over the world but the folks in Japan has been graced with a new model. The new Nissan Serena comes with a refreshed new look inside and out along with a host of new intelligent safety features as standard. How cool is that? (more…)
The Nissan Juke appeared on the scene 9 years ago, an early offering in the crossover segment that was beginning to grow. It was an important model for the European market and Nissan decided to produce it in the UK, besides another factory in Japan. The model is also assembled in Indonesia and has been sold in China as the Infiniti ESQ since 2014.
Distracted by other issues, Nissan left the Juke to soldier on for 9 years, a long time for a model that relies on trendiness as a key selling point. There was a ‘revised’ version in 2015 though it was mostly cosmetic.
Current Juke (Indonesian version)
Bold looks with coupe lines
This September will see an all-new generation finally being launched and final testing is being carried out at the Millbrook testing track in the UK. Nissan has released some pictures of a camouflaged prototype which shows the new design to be equally bold with coupe lines.
Designed in Europe, the new Juke is expected to draw a new generation of customers in the B-SUV segment. The footprint of new generation has increased in size to provide greater roominess and comfort for the driver and passengers, without losing its agile driving style
ProPILOT technology included
Loaded with ‘empowering tech’, the Juke will be the third Nissan model to feature ProPILOT technology, which forms part of the Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision.
It will sit on a platform from Renault and besides the run-of-the-mill petrol and diesel engines, there should still be a high-performance variant with all-wheel drive. The current generation has a NISMO variant offered in some markets.
In Britain, there are now more public places to recharge electric vehicle (EVs) than station selling petrol or diesel. In fact, the difference is almost 1,000 – 9,300 EV charging locations compared to 8,400 fuel stations.
This is the finding of Nissan’s UK subsidiary, based on available data and the company says that the crossover actually happened more than a year before Nissan’s 2016 prediction of August 2020. It is believed to be the result of the accelerating adoption of EVs amongst British motorists.
Fuel stations are everywhere
The global fuel station network today is a product of some 100 years of expansion. Places where vehicles can refuel can be found even deep inside the jungles of Africa or the mountain passes of the Himalayas. In Britain, the first fuel station was opened in November 1919 and as the vehicle population grew, so too did the number of stations to meet demand.
However, since 1970, almost 80% of the stations have closed, whilst the number of EV charging locations has increased from a few hundred in 2011 (when the Nissan LEAF went on sale) to more than 9,000 in August 2019.
‘Range anxiety’ can be dismissed
Of these locations, more than 1,600 provide ‘rapid charging’ which can recharge a typical EV battery pack to around 80% capacity in under an hour. According to Zap-Map, two new rapid charge devices came online every day in the last month. Almost all UK motorway service stations now have charging stations installed, the majority of which provide a rapid charge option. So it would be possible for owners of EVs such as the LEAF to travel around the country without ‘range anxiety’.
Transport for London has installed more than 1,000 EV charge points in the last year alone, as supply of fossil fuel within the capital city is becoming scarcer. One of the country’s oldest stations, the Bloomsbury Service Station which had been in operation since 1926, was closed in 2008.
“We’ve moved beyond the early concerns of range anxiety with EVs now exceeding the vast majority of customer’s daily driving needs. The next challenge is for charging infrastructure to keep pace with the number of EVs on the road, and that the experience of recharging is as enjoyable and effortless as that of all-electric driving,“ said Kalyana Sivagnanam, MD of Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd.
Since Nissan launched the first mass-market electric vehicle – the LEAF – in 2010, EV technology has continually improved, with the latest models both affordable and practical for the majority of new car buyers. As a result, Britain is experiencing unprecedented growth in the demand for battery-powered personal transport.
The latest LEAF is now also available in Malaysia. Find out more at www.nissan.com.my.
Servicing your Nissan, Renault, and Infiniti cars here in Malaysia just got a whole lot easier with the launch of the DriveOn by TAN CHONG mobile app by Tan Chong Ekspres Auto Servis Sdn Bhd (TCEAS). The app helps to provide added convenience for owners when it comes to vehicle maintenance. (more…)
Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) has launched the all-new 2019 Nissan Leaf a couple of days back and it marks a significant shift towards the future of electric mobility here in Malaysia. The second-gen 100% electric powered hatchback promises to be more dynamic with increased driving range plus all-round improvements in its driving experience. (more…)
7 years ago, Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) began ‘Journey to Zero Emissions’, a campaign to educate the Malaysian public about electric vehicles (EVs) and their benefits. Two years earlier, Nissan had launched the LEAF all-electric car and although it had no plans to offer the innovative new model in this market, ETCM felt that EVs would eventually become mainstream cars. Being associated with these vehicles of the future early could be advantageous later on.
The Japanese carmaker was focussed on more advanced markets like Japan, the USA and Europe where the LEAF was be very well received. Although Nissan did not want to get involved in the campaign, ETCM went ahead using its own money to fund it, a commendable effort.
In 2012, ETCM spent its own money to run a campaign to educate Malaysians about electric vehicles and their benefits, using the first generation LEAF. The company was also the first to set up a public charging station which was located at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur.
The timing was right too because around that period, the Malaysian government decided to promote the use of environment-friendly vehicles. As a demonstration of its commitment to reduce the country’s carbon footprint, hybrids and EVs were exempted from import tax and excise duties for 3 years, lowering their prices to attractive levels. This helped ETCM, of course, and benefitted the ‘early adopters’ who were invited to be ‘ambassadors’ for the ‘Journey to Zero Emissions’ campaign.
The re-imposition of the typically high duties on completely built-up (CBU) vehicles bumped the price of the LEAF up by about RM20,000. Sales virtually ended although there were still some people who bought the car at around RM180,000.
ETCM monitored the usage of the first generation to get real-world operation data in Malaysian conditions.
Collecting real-world data on operation
While the period that followed didn’t see more activity from ETCM concerning EVs, the company nevertheless monitored the cars in use. Valuable information on real-world operation was collected, especially the reliability of the components in our weather and motoring conditions. Nissan would have benefitted from this data and used it during the development of the next generation. Issues like high humidity and heavy rainfall would have had the engineers making sure that high-voltage connections and equipment would be sealed properly to prevent electrocution.
Nissan was indeed looking at countries in the Asia & Oceania region to introduce the LEAF, having ‘conquered” the development ones to become the bestselling EV in the world. Findings of a survey in 2017 were encouraging as 37% of respondents were willing to consider an EV as their next car.
So the journey that began as the initiative of one of its longest business partners now resumes with Nissan directly involved and presumably, supporting ETCM (as well as other distributors in the region) in various ways to market and grow sales. While the government won’t fully exempt EVs from duties, it is providing an incentive in the form of lower excise duties of 10% for such vehicles. This has enabled ETCM to price the new second generation LEAF at RM188,888 (excluding insurance).
Greatly improved second generation
In the 9 years since the first generation was on sale, the LEAF and all the technologies related to it have advanced greatly so the second generation is a far better car in all aspects. With more than 400,000 units sold worldwide, Nissan and its suppliers have gained the economies of scale to bring production costs down although the technology is still expensive. Nevertheless, it’s a trade-off: the costs can now be moderated but performance is increased. For instance, battery costs have gone down but the energy storage levels are higher, enabling the LEAF to go further.
The car also embodies Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company’s approach to changing the way cars are driven, powered and integrated into society. The three key aspects of Nissan Intelligent Mobility exemplified by the new Nissan LEAF are Nissan Intelligent Driving, Nissan Intelligent Power and Nissan Intelligent Integration.
The new powertrain offers improved energy efficiency and now produces 110 kW (about 150 ps), 38% more than before. Torque has been increased 26% to 320 Nm, resulting in improved acceleration that puts the 0 to 100 km/h time at a claimed 7.9 seconds. Typical of electric powertrains, maximum torque is available the moment the car takes off so it is quite an experience! There is another variant with higher power output and longer range but this is not available for the region yet.
More powerful battery pack, longer range
The key issues for EV buyers are range and charging time and the latest LEAF has a new 40 kWh lithium-ion battery pack which is said to give a range of 311 kms on a full charge (according to an internationally recognised test procedure). Over 300 kms is plenty for most people unless they travel outstation daily. Incidentally, ETCM has calculated the cost of running at 7 sen per kilometre if you have to pay for the electricity drawn.
As for charging, each new LEAF comes with a 6.6 kW wall box charger that can be installed at home or at the office. This recharges the battery pack fully in around 7 hours, so plugging in overnight – just as you would do with your mobilephone – would be a daily routine. However, installing the wall box may not be easy for everyone, especially those who live in a condominium complex. They will have to get the agreement of the complex management.
Each new LEAF will come with a wall box charger (left) that can be installed at home. In certain places, there will also be quick-chargers (right) which can recharge fully within 1 hour.
As for public charging stations which are common in developed countries and very slowly appearing in Malaysia, there is also the 50 kW CHAdeMO quick-charger which can recharge 100% within an hour. However, this is an expensive unit (about RM80,000 compared to RM8,000 for the wall box) and is only available at certain locations at this initial stage. ETCM is working with various parties to grow the network quickly and in the meantime, also has recharging stations at 17 of its outlets around the country.
With the earlier EVs (not that there were many available), the distance that could be travelled was limited so outstation motoring was out of the question. Going from KL to Melaka for a day trip was not possible as the range was insufficient. With the new LEAF’s 300+ km range, that is now possible as Melaka is about 150 kms away. Nevertheless, having a range of 150 kms remaining is risky so ETCM suggests recharging along the way and there is already a station at the Ayer Keroh R&R to do so. It’s even possible to drive from the Klang Valley to Penang although it would entail an overnight stop in Ipoh to recharge at the ETCM outlet (free of charge).
The point is that ‘range anxiety’ – worrying about how far you can go – is becoming less of a concern for EV owners, particularly those who have a LEAF. In Japan, route navigation systems have the locations of all recharging stations throughout the country so long-distance travellers can plan their journeys to have ample reserve energy in the battery packs and not worry about ‘going dry’.
Inside the LEAF
The dashboard of the first generation was somewhat futuristic, perhaps an attempt to ‘wow’ people as it was a new type of car. Now that the LEAF has become accepted and established, Nissan’s interior designers seem to have reverted to a more familiar appearance although there is much use of a graphic display as the main and comprehensive source of information for the driver.
Those who are driving the LEAF for the first time will need to get used to mode selection with the short knob. It’s almost like driving an automatic except there are less positions to engage and another thing – electric cars don’t make a sound when they are ready to go. You press the button and a light comes on and that’s it. No cranking of a starter motor or the vibrations of an idling engine.
The latest LEAF also comes with an e-Pedal, a Nissan innovation which is standard. It allows the driver to accelerate, decelerate and stop the car by using just the accelerator pedal alone. By simply releasing the accelerator, the LEAF will come to a smooth and complete stop without the need to press the brake pedal. With a deceleration rate of up to 0.2g, the e-Pedal eliminates the need for drivers to constantly move their foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal to slow down or stop. This helps reduce fatigue and increase enjoyment.
Stylish and futuristic exterior
As mentioned earlier, the interior has returned to a more familiar appearance as other Nissan models. But on the outside, the new design is certainly stylish and futuristic, with the option of having the 2-tone theme (black ‘floating’ roof) that was first seen in the current Serena S-HYBRID.
The design of the new LEAF is inspired by the IDS Concept car shown at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. The elements of Nissan brand design such as the signature V-Motion grille, the boomerang light signature and the floating roof link this model to the Nissan family.
A clear-blue 3D mesh pattern with a ‘freezing’ motif, on a flush surface inside the V-Motion grille, expresses the LEAF’s uniqueness as an EV (no need for air to cool the engine). The underfloor and a diffuser-type rear bumper combine to reduce drag and prevent lift, resulting in improved vehicle stability. With the more aerodynamic body styling and other details promote smoother airflow, the Cd is now 0.28.
Starting a new era for ETCM
When the founders of Tan Chong brought in the first Nissan cars (then branded as Datsuns), they didn’t know if they could sell them all. So they thought if they couldn’t they would just use the unsold cars themselves. For Christopher Tan, ETCM’s Sales & Marketing Director and grandson of one of the founders, that uncertainty in selling a type of car his grandfather never sold is less evident. In fact, he is encouraged by the pre-launch response and said that he has to start thinking about applying for more APs to get additional stocks.
“Our first batch is 100 units and we have already had interest from many people, especially those who have owned the LEAF before. They love the ‘EV life’ and don’t want any other type of car so now that they can replace it with the next generation, they are keen to do so,” he told PISTON.MY.
Mr. Tan added that they are not looking at big volumes in the short-term. Many who buy the LEAF will be those who use it as a second car but through them, the advantages of the EV can be publicised and in time, more people may be interested to own one.
The LEAF can cross flooded roads (though not recommended) without the electrics failing, and you can also recharge if it is raining, if necessary.
Two options for customers
ETCM offers two options to those who want to have a LEAF. The first is to purchase it outright for RM188,888 and it comes with 3 years (or maximum of 60,000 kms) of free scheduled maintenance, 3 years (or maximum of 100,000 kms) factory warranty and 8 years (or maximum of 160,000 kms) of warranty coverage on the battery pack.
The second option is a leasing approach: pay RM3,500 a month for 3 years to use the car and in the fourth year, you can return it and get a new one and continue the program. You can also renew the deal and will likely get a lower monthly rate. “I think that this may interest corporate buyers who can have a new car every 3 years,” said Mr. Tan.
Although the LEAF has a spacious and expandable cargo area, owners can ask for the loan of a X-Trail, Navara or Serena S-HYBRID if they have special requirements.
Additionally, for all LEAF owners, ETCM is offering a choice of a Navara, X-Trail or Serena S-HYBRID that can be borrowed for up to 23 days each year. “We think this is a useful privilege we can offer LEAF owners who may sometimes have certain requirements which necessitate using such vehicles. For example, an owner may be moving house and need to carry big and heavy items, so he can make use of our highly capable Navara at no charge,” explained Mr. Tan.
Sep Irran will soon have a report on his first driving impressions to share with you. Visit www.nissan.com.my to find out which showrooms will have the new LEAF on display during the weekend of 27/28 July.
