Nissan Car Blog » zero-emissions

Nissan Leaf EV Revealed

Brent — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:37:49 +0000

Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn unveiled Nissan’s first zero-emission electric vehicle (EV) at the company’s new headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday, in the form of a blue hatchback. The hatchback, which is set to go on sale in Japan, the U.S. next year and worldwide from 2012, had a sporty design penned by Nissan designer, Shiro Nakamura, and was the first time the external design of the EV was revealed. Nakamura said the EV was designed to be a real car rather than a futuristic design as Nissan does not intended the Leaf to be a niche car; a sentiment reiterated by Carlos Ghosn.

Nissan may lease the expensive lithium-ion battery to keep the price of the Nissan Leaf, as the EV is named, in the same range as similar gas-engine car such as the 1.5 million yen ($15,000) Nissan Tiida, which sells abroad as the Nissan Versa. “The monthly cost of the battery, plus the electric charge, will be less than the cost of gasoline,” Mr Ghosn said.

Nissan demonstrates its electric vehicle platform

Brent — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:44:38 +0000

YOKOSUKA, Japan – Nissan Motor Co. demonstrated its super-quiet, pure zero-emission electric vehicle (EV) platform on a Versa/Tiida-based prototype earlier today. The prototype uses a 24 kWh compact lithium-ion battery pack located under the vehicle floor to allow for more cabin and luggage space. The battery is recharged while the car is driving by the energy from the braking system, extending the driving range to 160 kilometres (99 miles) under a full charge. A handy navigation map screen on the EV’s dashboard provides a driving radius within range of the car’s charge, so drivers won’t get stranded on the highway. The electric motor powering the EV delivers 80 kW of power and 280 Nm of torque for response and powerful acceleration.

The major hurdle facing EV platforms is the high production price, which Nissan has promised to tackle. The company has yet to announce the price of its firs EV car but company spokeswoman Pauline Kee said the electric vehicle would be “competitive” with regular gasoline vehicles when it is launched in Japan and the U.S. in 2010. The EV will also have a unique exterior design, which Nissan plans to unveil at its new Global Headquarters Opening in Yokohama on August 2, 2009.

Nissan announces investments in UK and Portugal

Brent — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:57:10 +0000

Nissan have announced an almost €500 million in two plants to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EV’s) in the UK and Portugal after having secured grants from the respective governments. Nissan will invest more than €230 million in the plant near Sunderland, north east England, creating hundreds of new jobs in the UK’s recession-hit motor industry. Nissan’s investment is expected to create up to 350 direct jobs in Sunderland. Nissan will build a similar plant in Portugal, though the location of this plant has yet to be decided. Each plant would produce 60,000 batteries a year.

[Source: Reuters]

Nissan pushes ahead with Electric Vehicle ambitions

Brent — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:47:45 +0000

Amid an industry-wide plunge in vehicle sales, Nissan Motor Co, Japan’s No.3 automaker, has suspended its mid-term business plan named GT 2012, but with the exception of its electric vehicle ambitions. Nissan wants to close the gap with hybrid pioneers Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co as consumers look increasingly to alternative-fuel vehicles. Together with its French partner, Renault SA, Nissan is aiming to become the first to mass-market pure electric vehicles with a global roll-out in 2012.

However, the develop and produce lithium-ion batteries is the biggest hurdle to lowering the cost of electric cars, and the high cost of setting up a lithium-ion battery factory makes Nissan heavily dependent on state aid to succeed in its zero-emission objectives. Last month, Nissan, together with Ford Motor Co and Tesla Motors Inc, received approval from U.S. Department of Energy for loans to develop and produce fuel-efficient vehicles in the United States. Nissan will receive $1.6 billion loan to build a battery assembly facility and retool its production plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, to build a new electric cars starting in 2012. Andy Palmer, senior vice president and head of product planning at Nissan told Reuters that the battery production for the U.S. site would cost just over $1 billion!

[Source: Reuters]

U.S. Department of Energy approves $1.6 billion Loan

Brent — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:36:04 +0000

Nissan has received conditionally approval for a $1.6 billion loan by the U.S. Department of Energy. The loan falls under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVMLP) that was authorized by Congress under Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to accelerate the development of vehicles and technologies that increase U.S. energy independence, create cleaner means of transportation and stimulate the American economy.

Nissan intends to use the loan to retool its manufacturing plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, to produce zero-emissions electric vehicles, which emit no gases, and the lithium-ion battery packs required to power them. Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, Administration and Finance for Nissan North America, Inc (NNA) said: “This loan is an investment in America. It will help us put high-quality, affordable zero-emissions vehicles on our roads. This project will expand our Smyrna plant and that’s great economic news.”

Nissan hopes to become a leader in zero-emissions vehicles and intends offering electric vehicles in the United States and Japan by 2010. The first vehicles for the U.S. market will be built in Japan before production is shifted to the Smyrna plant in late 2012. Construction at the Smyrna plant is scheduled to begin by the end of this year, at which point an environmental assessment should be completed.