Nissan to launch Juke Hybrid in Europe

The European arm of Nissan  announced that its compact crossover Juke will soon have a hybrid variant.

According to Nissan, the forthcoming version of the Juke will be equipped with a hybrid powertrain that promises reduced emissions and lowered fuel consumption while still delivering responsive performance.

“Nissan's electrified product strategy is gaining momentum and the Juke Hybrid which will join the line-up later this year will represent another milestone on our strategic ambition to have a fully-electrified range by 2023,” said Nissan AMIEO Region Chairperson Guillaume Cartier.

The new hybrid powertrain available in the incoming Juke fully leverages the engineering strengths of Nissan’s Alliance partners.

The 94hp-internal combustion engine (ICE) was developed by Nissan and features a new generation, state-of-the-art powerplant developed specifically for working in a hybrid powertrain application. It is paired with an electric motor — also from Nissan — that adds 49hp to the hybrid compact crossover’s overall power output.

Meanwhile, Renault supplied the Juke Hybrid’s 15kW high voltage starter/generator, the inverter and the 1.2kWh water-cooled battery, as well as the highly-innovative gearbox.

The aforementioned slushbox features an advanced low friction multi-modal system that uses dog clutches instead of conventional synchronizer rings to shift the four “ICE” gears and two “EV” gears.

Nissan also adds that the transmission system does not require a clutch. Instead, an advanced algorithm controls the gearbox and manages the shift points, battery regeneration, as well as the advanced series-parallel architecture.

An intelligent drive system optimizes the amount of time the Nissan Juke Hybrid spends on EV mode. During startups, the Nissan Juke Hybrid uses only electric power and can maintain speeds of up to 55kph (34mph). A dedicated switch can manually prioritize the use of the electric motors as long as the battery level allows the vehicle to operate as an electric-only vehicle.

The hybrid Juke will also be equipped with Nissan’s e-Pedal step system, a feature found in the Nissan Leaf.

“We are in the middle of an electrified product offensive that places equal emphasis on eco-efficiency and driving pleasure. Like all of our electrified products, Juke Hybrid rewrites the rules in its segment thanks to the bold innovation that delivers more performance and more efficiency,” said Nissan AMIEO Region Vice President Arnaud Charpentier.

The new Nissan Juke Hybrid is expected to be launched by summertime (from June to September).

Photos from Nissan

Also read: 

The Bat, the Cat, the Juke: Limited-edition Nissan Juke to appear alongside 'Batman'

Nissan Juke vs. other crossovers in the same price point

A quick look inside the Nissan Juke