Dongfeng Nissan to make fuel-efficient vehicles

Shanghai, March 27 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Nissan plans to make more fuel-efficient, eco-friendly vehicles installed with continuously variable transmissions (CVT) and Star Wings navigation system, sina.com said today. 

In its mid-term development strategy, Dongfeng Nissan has said at least 50% of its vehicles will be equipped with the CVT by 2012. The CVT will help save fuel by about 17% and cut emissions by 18%. An affiliate of Nissan Motor will open a CVT factory with annual capacity of 150,000 units in southern China's Guangzhou city in mid-2009.

The CVT operates on an ingenious pulley system that allows an infinite variability between highest and lowest gears with no discrete steps or shifts, thus eliminating damage from shift changing and transmission torque and improving vehicle fuel efficiency.

Last year, Dongfeng Nissan worked out an ambitious 5-year business plan to launch 15 new vehicle models and lift annual sales to 1 million units and revenue 10 billion yuan by 2012, when Nissan Motor will bring its electric car models to China for local production.

The joint venture will also introduced the Star Wings navigation system to more of its future vehicles, and the high-tech device is first used on Nissan Teana for Beijing consumers. This technology can save driving time by 16%, thus cutting considerable fuel and emission.