Nissan Pivo 3 on the line

Losing your car in the shopping centre car park could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a tiny new Nissan concept car that the driver can summon via a smartphone.

The Pivo 3 concept car was one of the stars of the Nissan stand at the 42nd Tokyo motor show which opened its doors to the world’s media today.

The tiny, electric-powered city commuter is what Nissan envisions to be a "realistic" EV of the near future, with an ability to park itself, charge itself and come to the driver when called.

Its ultra compact dimensions, four wheel steering and in-wheel electric motors mean the Pivo3 can turn in a radius of just 2 metres. Most roads have a width of 4 metres or more, so the Pivo3 can make a U-turn just about anywhere. For the city driver who gets lost up a narrow street or laneway, that means the car, which measures just under 3m in length and seats three in a 1+2 layout, can make a legal U-turn instead of having to reverse out.

The days of trawling around looking for that elusive parking spot may also be over as the Pivo3 not only searches for a vacant spot but also parks itself, and then sets about automatically charging its battery to ensure you have enough juice to get home. Nissan calls this function Automated Valet Parking (AVP), and we believe them when they say it could “revolutionize the parking experience”.

Of course you can’t try this at your local Coles or Woolies just yet, as for the Pivo3 is a concept and not yet in production, and it will require infrastructure such as specially designed parking spaces and wireless charging pads.

And just in case the Pivo3 driver isn’t already feeling chuffed enough about a car that parks itself, comes when called and emits zero emissions, the little commuter car also does its bit for the community by putting excess electricity back into the grid when parked.

The idea is that when EV's represent a larger percentage of all cars, they’ll be able to collectively serve as part of a city's infrastructure by helping balance electric power supply and demand. Nissan calls it a “fully-evolved vehicle that envisions life in tomorrow's cities”.

The company’s general manager of Product Strategy and Product Planning, Francois Bancon,  describes it as “one of the answers for active urbanists living in mature markets.”