Nissan adds solar roof to Japan's most popular little EV – and it promises to add 1,800 miles of free range a year

• Nissan creates an extending solar roof to top up EV batteries
• The tech is demonstrated on Japan’s top-selling small EV
• Japanese marque wants to roll it out commercially

Nissan will showcase its take on a solar roof at the Japan Mobility show later this month, as it unveils a Sakura (Japan’s top-selling EV) fitted with what it refers to as "Ao-Solar Extender" technology.

This clever, if a little fugly, solar roof panel sits on top of the vehicle, charging as it drives. But the device also slides out to extend when parked, effectively doubling the photovoltaic surface area to increase the amount of power that can be fed back into battery packs.

According to Nissan, the fully extended panel is capable of generating up to 500 Watts of power, as well as shading the cabin from the sun’s rays on hot sunny days.

During inclement weather, when the extending panel has to be retracted, the system can generate around 300W, or around 80W during the darkest and rainiest days.

It might not sound like much, but the engineers behind the device say it can add over 1,800 miles of free electric motoring every year.

In fact, the typical Sakura customer, who has a plethora of vehicles to choose from in Japan’s bustling Kei car market, only ever travels a few miles to run errands or pick up kids from school.

“Solar-generated power could nearly eliminate the need for grid-based charging for a significant portion of owners. Moreover, the solar system can serve as an emergency power source during disasters,” Nissan claims.

Despite looking slightly mad, the range extending solar panel system is destined to go into production, with a commercial launch planned for some time in the near future.

A ray of sunshine

A number of automotive manufacturers have already experimented with solar roofs, with Fisker famously offering an option on the Ocean that could add around 1,200 miles of free motoring every year.

Similarly, Hyundai and Toyota also delivered optional devices that can add a couple of miles of range each day.

While Nissan’s claims of 1,800 miles every year might not sound like much, the technology could still be beneficial to those low mileage users who leave their vehicles for a long time and only ever use the EV to pop to the shops or run errands. As Nissan says, it could negate the need to plug in at all for some people.

What’s more, a number of premium brands are already looking beyond large solar panels bolted to the roof and have started experimenting with solar paint, which Mercedes-Benz debuted on the hyper-miling Vision EQ XX prototype.

The German marque says its active photovoltaic surface could add almost 7,500 extra EV miles per year in ideal conditions.

The company is clearly pushing ahead with its developments, as the most recent Vision Iconic EV concept sported the next generation of the marque’s solar paint, which suggests it could soon become a commercialized feature.

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