Nissan Motor will launch a closed-loop aluminum recycling technology in Europe to produce parts for a new generation of the Qashqai compact crossover. Assembly of the car will begin in the summer.
Qashqai J12 was introduced in February this year, aluminum is widely used in its design - part of the body panels is stamped fr om "winged metal": doors, hood, front fenders. This decision made it possible to reduce the curb weight relative to its predecessor by 60 kg.
However, the manufacture of panels from aluminum sheets requires special stamping techniques. In 2020, specifically for the release of the new Qashqai, Nissan installed at its plant in Sunderland (England, wh ere Qashqai is produced for the entire European Union) a second extra-heavy press and an air supply system for recycling metal waste. Unclaimed aluminum scraps that are formed after panels are stamped are shredded by this air supply system. Crushed scrap is unloaded at a speed of 150 km/h, seven tons of metal or more can run up in one hour.
Scrap is collected separately for each brand of aluminum. This will allow Nissan to return it to its metal suppliers, who will recycle it and send it back to the Sunderland plant to make Qashqai parts.
According to Nissan, this recycling can save more than 90% of the energy needed to produce the same amount of aluminum from virgin raw materials, as well as reduce the amount of new resources used.
Recall that the Nissan Qashqai J12 is built on the Renault-Nissan CMF-C platform. The overall length, width and height of the new Qashqai are 4425, 1838 and 1635 mm, respectively, the wheelbase is 2666 mm. That is, relative to its predecessor J11, it is 35 mm longer, 32 mm wider and 25 mm higher, the wheelbase is increased by 20 mm.
The car will be produced in a petrol version with a 1.3-liter turbo engine (138 or 156 HP) and a hybrid (190 HP).
Nissan to make new Qashqai panels from recycled materials
