These four radical Nissan concept cars could preview its future design language

Nissan has revealed its contributions to the 2024 Beijing Motor Show in the form of four new concepts. Count 'em: two saloons and two SUVs, with one of each being a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and the other all-electric.

Let’s start with the saloon PHEV. Dubbed the ‘Evo Concept’, it’s the funkier of the two designs with its sharp, descending headlight crystals and Volvo S90-esque rear end. It acts as a preview for the support and safety systems Nissan might roll out in the future. 

Since most of the interiors follow the same philosophy, we’ll focus on the Evo Concept, and it looks… rather nice. Nissan has taken a minimalist approach, so you get dual screens, funky ambient lighting along the dashboard and a few storage bins in the centre console. And that’s about it. 

Moving on to the ‘Era Concept’ PHEV SUV, Nissan says the target audience here is “young business people who treat their car as a second home”. As such, it's equipped the Era Concept with zero-gravity seats, a circuit of entertainment systems and air suspension. So it is homely. Sort of.

Next up, the ‘Epoch Concept’ saloon. It’s a little more serious in its design than the Evo Concept but has a more intuitive AI-based interior that can “recognise emotions” and communicate accordingly. So if we want a three-piece bucket from KFC, it should be able to understand, order and pick it up for us, right?

Last but not least is the electric ‘Epic Concept’ SUV, which looks like a sort of RoboCop-Qashqai. Its light signatures follow a similar million-prong look to the Era Concept, albeit with a more pronounced lower section like the two saloons. Its party piece is its focus on autonomous driving, with Nissan also hyping up its ability as a mobile power source on trips to the rural countryside. 

Though general details like powertrains or pricing remain far from finalised, these four cars do at least serve as a strong indicator of what we can expect from Nissan’s design department moving forward.