Nissan

Nissan and Toyota introduces two new environmentally-friendly vehicles for people of San Francisco.

Nissan is partnering with Scoot Networks in order to gain much needed insight into the future of personal mobility, particularly in urban areas.

Unlike the Autolib in Paris and the Ford-backed GoDrive car-sharing scheme in London that provide cars, Scoot Networks offers San Francisco residents access to electric two-wheelers for making one-way trips. Collect an eBike from one location and then leave it plugged in at the one closest to your final destination for someone else with membership and a smartphone app to borrow.

Nissan is donating 10 "Scoot Quad" electric cars, based on the Renault Twizy. They have two seats, one behind the other, a top speed of 25mph (40km/h) and a maximum range of 40 miles (46km) between charges. But because they're more like traditional cars, their use could open the concept of Scoot Networks up to a much wider potential audience.

"As large cities continue to grow into megacities globally, we need to understand how transportation is changing and look ahead to anticipate what transportation needs will look like in the future," said Rachel Nguyen, executive director, Nissan Future Lab. "Scoot Networks is an ideal partner in this research project because they are fulfilling a need that has emerged in the San Francisco market, and they share a similar commitment to zero-emissions mobility."

Integrating transport systems

Commuters often turn to their cars because mass transit networks aren't sufficiently integrated. In recent years, car companies have been exploring ways of joining the dots between forms of transport, be it via collapsible electric scooters that fit in a car's trunk for completing "the last mile" or in the case of Toyota, helping to integrate existing public transport systems while simultaneously offering forms of mobility that fill in existing gaps.

Its Ha:mo imitative is already up and running in Toyota City, Japan since 2012 and in Grenoble, France since 2014. It uses apps that help users plan the door-to-door route via metro, train, bus and one-way electric vehicle rental and the company will be showcasing the next stage of its development at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.

It will see Ha:mo rolled out, in partnership with Park24 Co in Tokyo, as a means of assessing the impact and benefits on a densely populated area that is also a mecca for tourism. Toyota will be showcasing how its cars could gather valuable telematics information -- such as road conditions, congestion, potential issues with public transport, etc -- and share it.

The Tokyo Motor Show opens its doors to the public on October 30. Meanwhile, Nissan's trial with Scoot Networks will go live from Monday.