Nissan is introducing a ‘Lightweighting Programme’ aimed at producing a pioneering prototype material structure designed to be used in the floor of the vehicles of the future. The Japanese car giant says it will draw on the materials and techniques used in the motorsport and aerospace industries including the materials used in space travel.

David Moss, Vice President, Vehicle Design & Development, said, “The next 12 months promise to bring not resolutions, but revolutions, as the brand marches forward with yet more ‘Innovation That Excites’. This programme is another demonstration of our commitment to developing the cars of tomorrow, today. He added, “We know the cars of the future will need to be lighter, stronger and more efficient, that is why we are launching our prototype programme in collaboration with research and industry bodies across the UK. This programme intends to produce a new manufacturing process that will revolutionise the industry.”

In addition to the ‘Lightweighting Programme’ Nissan is involved in an extensive mass reduction programme, which has resulted in a 90kg weight loss for the X-trail and 40kg for the new Qashqai. Under this existing programme, Nissan engineers use lighter stronger materials while still allowing for the extensive addition of extra equipment. Nissan’s efforts in the ‘Lightweighting Programme’ will improve performance, fuel consumption and counteract the weight of the increasing amount of technology being built into vehicles.

Nissan is undertaking this work as part of the LX consortium of auto manufacturers and research bodies led by Sigmatex and supported by Axillium Research, in partnership with Cranfield University, Engenuity, Expert Tooling & Automation, Granta Design, Group Rhodes, LMAT, Surface Generation and Tilsatec.