Nissan develops ‘self-cleaning’ car prototype

Mumbai: After investing in a new car, has cleaning your car become a stressful chore for better maintenance? It seems as if carmaker companies have also got to know about this. Nissan has already begun tests on innovative paint technology that repels mud, rain and everyday dirt. This will in fact make your car cleaning task much easier.

The specially engineered super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint, which repels water and oils, has been applied to the all-new European market Nissan Note to create the world's first self-cleaning car.

To assess the real-world effectiveness of the super-hydrophobic as a potential aftermarket application, engineers at Nissan Technical Centre Europe will be testing the self-cleaning Note over the coming months in a variety of conditions. Nissan is the first carmaker to apply the technology, called Ultra-Ever Dry, on automotive bodywork. By creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, it effectively stops standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the car's surface.

"The Nissan Note has been carefully engineered to take the stress out of customer driving, and Nissan's engineers are constantly thinking of new ways to make families' lives easier," said Geraldine Ingham, Chief Marketing Manager for Nissan Note.

So far, the coating, which is being marketed and sold by UltraTech International Inc, has responded well to common use cases including rain, spray, frost, sleet and standing water. Whilst there are currently no plans for the technology to be applied to the model as standard, Nissan will continue to consider the coating technology as a future aftermarket option.

"We are committed to addressing everyday problems our customers face and will always consider testing exciting, cutting edge technology like this incredible coating application," concluded Geraldine Ingham.