Good Design Gold Award 2010
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Award Number :10B07018

Award-winning item :

Holistic approach to promote zero-emission vehicle (Nissan LEAF) and zero-emission mobility

Company :

NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.

Producer :

HIDEAKI WATANABE, Corporate Vice President, Global Zero Emission Vehicle Business Unit, NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.

Director :

SHIRO NAKAMURA, Senior Vice President, Chief Creative Officer, Design/ Brand management, NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.

Designer :

KOJI NAGANO, Design Director, Product Design Department, Global Design Center, NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.

Description

Nissan Motor is endeavoring to develop a line of products, such as electric cars, with minimal environmental load. The Nissan Leaf, with zero emissions, aimed to become the world's first mass-produced, environmentally friendly electric car. The company aims not only to manufacture electric cars, but also to build a zero-emissions society, and as such is taking comprehensive initiatives such as forming partnerships with national and local governments, electric power companies and so on, producing lithium ion batteries, making secondary use of batteries, using recycled materials in vehicles, producing and marketing quick-charge devices in-house, setting up a charging infrastructure and promoting standardization of charging methods with other companies.

Evaluation

The Nissan Leaf is an electric car with its own unique design. Its highly responsive performance in functions such as acceleration, braking, and handling sets a new standard for riding comfort not found in conventional engine types. The interface for driving also seems complete in every detail. Its navigation system, which lets you check the drivable areas and the locations of recharging spots at any time, and the controls that let you check ventilation and battery charge levels from a mobile phone will be useful for alleviating the anxiety of first-time drivers of electric cars. Its exterior design includes the unique headlight cover, which exhibits aerodynamic features and acts as a measure against wind noise, the onboard solar panels for air conditioning and heating, and the gently curving roof line. It is well balanced as total design, I would like to give it high marks for their comprehensive effort on the part of the auto manufacturer to work toward a zero-emissions society, due to production and recycling systems that arose out of concern for its environmental load and its parking and recharging systems.

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