Nissan Motors, a late comer to the hybrid field, has announces that its new FR Hybrid system rivals that of the Toyota Prius in EV Running Distance. While still in prototype stage, the “parallel hybrid” vehicle incorporates a transmission integrating an electric motor and two clutches. Scheduled to be introduced in 2010 in a newly designed car, Nissan claims that their FR Hybrid systems yields about 1.6 times higher mileage than the same vehicles without the system. The unique transmission, which is based on a 7-speed automatic transmission, is equipped with a clutch and a motor instead of a torque converter. It has another clutch on the rear end of the transmission mechanism. With two clutches, the vehicle can run as an EV using only the electric motor. No word on pricing.More at the Nikkei
