Nissan's electric car shows green commitment
- Source: Shanghai Daily
- [10:25 July 28 2009]
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Nissan Motor Co showed off its super-quiet, zero-emission electric car yesterday - a key green offering for Japan's No. 3 auto maker, which has fallen behind in hybrid technology.
Nissan showed the prototype in a Tiida compact that is already on sale. It is withholding the unveiling of the electric car's exterior design until the Tokyo-based manufacturer opens its new Yokohama headquarters on Sunday.
"Nissan will be a leader in zero-emission vehicles," Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said ahead of a test-drive event at the auto maker's facility in this Tokyo suburb. "EV is the answer."
Sales of Nissan's electric vehicle are scheduled to begin in Japan and the United States next year. Nissan says it plans to mass produce zero-emission cars globally from 2012. Until then, Nissan will produce all initially targeted 100,000 units at its plant in Oppama, near Kanagawa, including export models.
Nissan has received a US$1.6 billion loan from the US Department of Energy to modify its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant to produce electric vehicles and batteries to power them, with production starting in 2012.
