Nissan has revealed the first of four electric concept cars headed for the upcoming Tokyo motor show.

    The Hyper Urban is a city SUV in a similar vein to a Nissan Juke or Qashqai. We don’t have any details about what’s powering it, beyond the fact it’s capable of vehicle-to-grid.

    That means that, plugged into a suitable wall box, the car can feed energy back into the power grid during periods of heavy load.

    Nissan says its charging system features AI that can “autonomously charge vehicles and power buildings, providing efficient management of power”.

    Over-the-air software updates are fast becoming the norm with electric cars, allowing owners to unlock new features, more power, and new looks for the in-cabin displays.

    Nissan says the Hyper Urban will be compatible with hardware updates and “regular software updates” to offer a “fresh ownership experience over many years”.

    There’s plenty of concept flourish to the design. The rear scissor doors, funky salad dicer wheels, and aggressive creases are all the sort of thing that’ll be toned down for production – but the vehicle hiding beneath them looks a bit like a Juke crossed with an Ariya, which is how we’d expect a production take on this to shape up.

    Inside, the Hyper Urban has been designed to act like a lounge space. The front seats collapse into the rears to create a “sofa-like, private relaxing space”.

    It’s not clear whether the Hyper Urban previews an all-new model, a replacement for an existing model, or an electric sibling to an existing petrol car.

    Nissan has confirmed it will build two new electric models for Europe at its Sunderland, UK plant, which currently produces the Leaf.

    It has previously indicated it will replace the small hatch with a crossover in 2026, which could be inspired by the Chill-Out concept from 2021.

    Scott Collie

    Scott Collie is an automotive journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. Scott studied journalism at RMIT University and, after a lifelong obsession with everything automotive, started covering the car industry shortly afterwards. He has a passion for travel, and is an avid Melbourne Demons supporter.

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