First Look 2020

Author? Jinghan Chen

"Is there something flowing between the designer and the user, and that flow is part of that power and part of the beauty." In Growth Hacking, the author describes the "ah-ha moment" in design, which is a moment of bliss when we are visually exposed to the message of the design, and thus have a moment of eye-opening bliss. It's a concept that best describes the power of Japanese design.

Japanese food is known as "food with the eyes", Japan is known as "eating with the eyes of the nation", aesthetic design in Japan is also the popularity of the high is also marveled at. Japanese architectural design master Kengo Kuma also commonly used "from small to large, oil born" to describe his design concept, Japan and anything else, there are from small to large level of aesthetics. Nissan, as a local Japanese company, has followed this traditional aesthetic and brought it to the Nissan Ariya.

Timeless Japanese futurism

The mention of what to expect from the Nissan Ariya goes back to the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, when the Nissan Ariya concept showed a forward-looking design concept that was very different from what you normally see in a pure electric car. The soft, dynamic styling was described by the designers as "timeless Japanese futurism".

Nissan's design of the new electric car draws on Japanese aesthetics from the very beginning, so that every artistic detail of the Ariya is a manifestation of its "Japanese identity.

Just as a landscape landscape does not seek overly luxuriant plants, Ikebana does not pay attention to the number of flowers or the splendor of flowers, in some ancient and modern tea rooms, just a branch of white plum or a wheel of sunflowers and other simple flowers and plants can create an elegant, back to the basics of the atmosphere.

The designers of Nissan Ariya advocate the essence of Japanese aesthetics, "Less?is?more", by eliminating redundant elements, creating a minimalist shape of "white and rich", and giving the car a vibrant sense of life through the subtle changes in light. Through the subtle change of light, it gives the car a vivid sense of life.

The symmetrical layout of the interior space, with the driver as the center axis, creates an ideal cabin with distinctive layers and concentration on driving. The simple, beautiful and delicate design, down to the location and touch of each button, has been carefully considered to make driving more comfortable and safe. In addition, the details of the interior, such as the high-touch leather steering wheel and the gearshift lever handle, also reflect the personality, style and temperament everywhere.

As expressed by Alfonso Albaisa, Senior Vice President of Global Design, Nissan Motor Company, "We wanted the Nissan Ariya to have a distinctive Japanese DNA, one of the hallmarks of Nissan as it opens a new chapter for the brand, and in particular to represent how we are interpreting the new technologies in a very artistic way. Rather than going for mere trends, I wanted the designers to find how to find harmony in complexity as a way to give the Nissan Ariya a smooth, seamless, sharp and taut design."

The Ariya's design philosophy of "timeless Japanese futurism" is seen by Nissan's executive design director, Goh Tanai, as implying a sustainable mindset. "It's a foundation that is also very favorable for designing electric vehicles. So when designing an electric car, it occurred to me that we could incorporate Japanese thinking, not only to express traditional Japanese themes, but also to incorporate that mode of thinking."

In-depth layout of the Chinese market?

When it comes to the Nissan brand, which is 87 years old, 87 years is a long enough period of time for an automotive brand to percolate meaning beyond its commercial value. For many enthusiasts and consumers, Nissan is still a symbol of the times and carries so many legendary stories.

The "Baywatch" anime protagonist Fairlady?Z, the off-road god Touareg, the highly malleable VQ series engine, and countless men's dream?car?GT-R, and so on, these glorious works of the past are also the cornerstones of the successful opening of the new chapter of NEW?NISSAN.

For Chinese consumers, the mention of Nissan may be associated with comfort, cost-effective, fuel-efficient. These are the genes that supported the rapid development of Nissan cars before, after years of dissemination, the user for Nissan seems to have formed some kind of stereotypical thinking, it is often difficult to change. But these "stereotypes" are not suitable for the future development of China's auto market. As Nissan's chief operating officer Gupta said, Chinese consumers have a new pursuit of choosing a car, more and more to the product is equipped with technology-oriented.

"Based on understanding the needs of consumers in each market, Nissan will continue to deliver advanced technologies and the Nissan DNA to consumers. As we see the needs of Chinese consumers changing rapidly on a daily basis, we need to ensure that our products and Nissan DNA are continually available to consumers. All of our core markets require locally appropriate development plans for long-term sustainable development and business growth.

Based on this, on July 15, Nissan unveiled the Nissan Ariya, the first strategic model after the start of the "Nissan?NEXT" corporate transformation plan, which also marks the beginning of the next era of electrification. In order to emphasize the "priority and focus" of the Chinese market, Nissan brought this global strategic model to China at the first time.

For Nissan, the Ariya is a model that bears all of its "ambition" to capture the electrified market. If the LEAF represents the last decade of Nissan's electrification efforts, then the just-released Nissan Ariya will start the next decade of Nissan's electrification efforts.

Makoto Uchida, who was president of Dongfeng Motor Co. in April 2018, has a deep knowledge of the Chinese market. He said that Chinese consumers' needs are changing rapidly, and in order to meet such needs and continue to provide the value of Nissan vehicles, the most important thing is to "put in the right products at the right time" and "customize products for the market".

Makoto Uchida also emphasized that China is undoubtedly one of the world's leading markets in the fields of electrification, autonomous driving and smart connectivity. In order to meet the needs of Chinese consumers, Nissan needs to maximize the role of localization for product planning, development and production. This is the development strategy that Nissan has always adhered to in China so far.

In this regard, Alfonso also said "Nissan China Design Center is Nissan's largest design center in the world, and the new Nissan Ariya would not have come to fruition without technological innovation in China."

It is reported that by 2022, Nissan will launch seven new models in China, which will not only come to China at the first time, but also do a lot of localization work. By 2025, Nissan will launch nine electrified models, Nissan will provide Nissan's unique technology and unique value to Chinese consumers. These moves also show the importance Nissan attaches to the Chinese market.

Writing in the end

The birth of Ariya is a very important attempt of Nissan to break the user's inherent impression of the future of the automobile "main battlefield" in the electrification and intelligence, but also Nissan to open a new chapter of the brand's specific product performance. The Nissan Ariya is also a modern industrial design that, in the light of traditional Japanese aesthetics, presents a sense of rhythmic life that transcends the existence of cold machinery itself.

This article comes from the author of the automobile home car family, does not represent the views of the automobile home position.