The all-electric Nissan IMx crossover concept was revealed today at the Tokyo Motor Show with Nissan claiming it offers a 600km driving range and is fully autonomous.

THE IMX CONCEPT has broken cover at the Tokyo Motor Show today with the Japanese car maker claiming it offers a 600km driving range and is fully autonomous.

“The IMx zero-emission crossover concept vehicle embodies the future of Nissan Intelligent Mobility,” said Daniele Schillaci, executive vice president for global marketing and sales, zero-emission vehicles and the battery business. “Through Nissan Intelligent Mobility, Nissan is committed to changing the way people and cars communicate, as well as how cars interact with society in the near future and beyond.”

The IMx boasts what Nissan calls a “future version” of ProPILOT which offers “fully autonomous operation”. “When ProPILOT drive mode is selected, the system stows the steering wheel inside the dashboard and reclines all seats, giving the driver more space and allowing the vehicle’s occupants to relax and enjoy their commute. When Manual drive mode is selected, the vehicle returns the steering wheel and seats to their original position, seamlessly transferring control back to the driver,” Nissan said.

What about the vehicle itself? Nissan said the IMx adopts its new EV platform which sees a completely flat floor combined with a motor at the front and rear for all-wheel drive capability and a total output of 320kW and 700Nm of torque. A new battery is being used which Nissan said offers increased energy density and can thus offer a 600km driving range.

More than this, Nissan said the IMx can also after, say, dropping its owner at the airport, drive off and park itself “in a spot where the vehicle can connect to the local power grid and act as a “virtual” power plant by returning electricity to the grid, an extension of its vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-building features. Once the owner returns, the IMx can pick them up at the terminal and drive home”.

The exterior of the IMx hinges around Nissan’s V-motion grille and, here’s how Nissan describes it: “The broad surfaces of the distinctively shaped front fenders start from the grille and expand seamlessly onto the body sides, creating a sense of layers”.

As for the interior, it’s been modelled of a traditional Japanese house… “The car’s panoramic OLED instrument panel displays a view of the external environment in the background. A separate, wood grain-patterned display, positioned below the instrument panel and wrapping around the interior door trims, gives occupants a subtle sense of the outside, similar to a shoji, a traditional Japanese paper screen.

“The katanagare diagonal pattern on the seats has been delicately etched with a laser cutter. The head rest – patterned like kumiki, a Japanese interlocking wood puzzle – is made from silicon-material cushioning and a frame produced by a 3D printer.

“Artificial intelligence enables the driver to control the instrument panel with eye movements and hand gestures.”