Nissan reconfirms pledge to CVTs

Nissan has gone on the record – sell 1 million vehicles equipped with continuously variable transmissions annually by 2007, an increase from 250,000 sold last year. The heart of the expansion plan will be in both the Japanese and U.S. markets, where the proportion of CVT-fitted vehicles will rise to 50% and 40% respectively. While many of the CVT applications are in smaller cars sold in Japan, the Murano SUV is available in the U.S. with a CVT. Nissan is developing more improvements to their CVT to increase the gear ratio range and boost shift response to ensure the CVTs place as a major part in Nissan's future fuel efficiency plan.