The Nissan IMq shows a prototype of an electric and autonomous SUV

Mobility, according to Nissan, is driven by vehicles like the Nissan IMq: electric and autonomous, SUV-style

Nissan has entered the new era of the automotive industry through its prototypes called Nissan IM. These letters bring together a concept with multiple dimensions: I, for Intelligent, and M, for Mobility.

For the Japanese brand, the intelligent mobility of the future will rely not only on electric cars, but also on a combination of propulsion technology based on electricity, managed autonomously by the vehicle itself during its journeys without human intervention in driving.

This leads us to think that, for Nissan IM, the future of mobility lies in the electrification and automation of cars. That is, electric and autonomous cars.

The Nissan IMq, a new member of the IM family

The prototypes presented so far within the IM family included an electric saloon known as the Nissan IMs, which we include in the following gallery, and the Nissan IMx, an electric SUV.

The newly presented Nissan IMq could anticipate, with its q, the main lines of the next Nissan Qashqai.

Because we know that the best-selling SUV in our country in 2018 is nearing the end of its generational life cycle. A car that is betting strongly on both an aesthetic and technological renewal, but which faces its final months as we know it.

Like its smaller sibling, we know we are very close to seeing the new Nissan Juke, a version that should be in dealerships by 2020 at the latest.

This Nissan IMq may give us an idea of where Nissan its strategy for this popular crossover is heading.

The future Nissan Qashqai

And the upcoming Nissan Qashqai could be even more popular if its range includes an electric version, as we hope it will. The restrictions and bans that are choking and will suffocate combustion engines point to electric motors as the only escape route for the automotive industry. Or so it seems they want.

Whatever the case, the Nissan IMq shows a sketch of the prototype we will see at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Because, from March 5 to 17, this prototype, which could anticipate the new Nissan Qashqai, will be present at the Swiss event.

There we can confirm its character: a concept vehicle that, at first glance, shows an extreme, rugged, voluptuous and aggressive look. With very pronounced muscularity shown in a bodywork of flat panels broken only by the inserts of the lights, grotesque wheel arches and aerodynamic appendages that could hardly end up on the production Nissan Qashqai.

It is true that the set of rear light clusters shows elegant illuminated lines that could well be part of the rear of a vehicle, as could the spoiler over a more than narrow glass of the rear hatch.

As we indicated, with the Geneva show just around the corner, we will only have to wait a few days to analyse the Nissan IMq from every angle and gather more technical information about this prototype, which may well lead to the new-generation Nissan Qashqai.

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverNissan Qashqai19 versions · from 32,200 €