Planning chief at Nissan confirms the freeze of the BladeGlider project

The new senior executives at Nissan and its luxury division Infiniti avoided mentioning at their speeches at the Detroit Motor Show what progress had been made with respect to the most ambitious prototypes of both brands. Automotive News suspected at the time that these evasions meant that the IDx, Q50 Eau Rouge and BladeGlider had been shelved indefinitely, and its prediction has ended up being confirmed.

Philippe Klein, successor to former Nissan CEO Andy Palmer, and current head of planning at the Japanese manufacturer, has told the British magazine Autocar that it has been decided to freeze development of the BladeGlider, whose market launch was planned for 2017.

The reasons Klein gives practically coincide with those that Automotive News had anticipated. While Palmer was in favour of putting this vehicle, which he was very enthusiastic about, into production, his successor advocates products that are more rational and suited to aspiring to large commercial volumes.

The Nissan executive stresses that the BladeGlider has not given up its status as a prototype with which to explore new ideas, technologies and other aspects. The initiative to manufacture it in series right now is not part of Nissan’s “most urgent priorities”, however much it impressed the public when it was presented at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2013.

The SWAY from Geneva will have more luck, which anticipates a model more necessary for Nissan, in Klein’s words, also obtained by the English publication. Moving its supermini from the B-segment to the CMF platform -Common Module Family- on which the Pulsar, the Qashqai, the X-Trail and the Renault Espace and Kadjar are based will allow better use of economies of scale, sharing components and, ultimately, cutting costs, which is what Klein is looking for in Nissan’s plans.

Via | Autocar