At the 2026 Clean Energy Day event, Nissan demonstrated a solar concept car based on Ariea.Solar energy is replenished through integrated photovoltaic components in the vehicle body. Under optimal sunlight conditions, the vehicle's single-day driving range can be extended by an additional 23 kilometers. This concept car has photovoltaic modules with a total area of about 3.8 square meters embedded in the hood, roof and tailgate. The electricity generated is directly input into the drive battery.
The project was jointly developed by Nissan's Dubai product planning team and Barcelona's powertrain planning team. The photovoltaic technology was cooperated with the Dutch company Lightyear. The battery integration and energy management system were independently developed by Nissan.
Actual measurement data shows that the energy replenishment effect of the solar system is affected by regional lighting conditions. In sunny Dubai, the vehicle's driving range can be increased by 21.2 kilometers in a single day; in Barcelona, the average daily increase is 17.6 kilometers; and in cloudy London, this value is only 10.2 kilometers.
In a two-hour test with a driving range of 80 kilometers, the solar module produced 0.5 kilowatt hours of electrical energy, which corresponds to an increase of 3 kilometers in battery life.
It is reported that this system can reduce the external charging demand of electric vehicles by 35% to 65%. For commuter users with an annual mileage of about 6,000 kilometers, the number of external charging times per year can be reduced from 23 to 8 times under ideal conditions.
but,Nissan has also made it clear that the solar concept car has no plans for mass production.
