Nissan has confirmed plans to sell electric vehicles in America by 2010, and the same technology will be on offer by Renault in Europe by 2012, according to company CEO Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn admitted that emissions legislation in California gave both companies extra impetus to research alternative energy sources. “Nissan is working on an electric vehicle which will be launched in the US in 2010,” he confirmed. But Renault and Nissan intend to develop the electric vehicle technology together. Ghosn described "different applications, as the cars will not be identical", adding, "we will target different markets according to the brands.” Europe will be a priority for Renault, while Nissan will embrace the EV technology in Japan and America. The most recent example we’ve seen of Nissan’s electric vehicle know-how is the strange looking Pivo 2 concept, which has a 60-mile range and a top speed on 70mph, is powered by electric motors and lithium-ion batteries and has a rotating cabin for all-round visibility. But the company developed its first electric concept car in 1947. Called the Tama, it had a 40-mile range and could hit 40mph. In 2006, Nissan showcased more modern EV technology, with the Smart car sized Hypermini concept and a fuel-cell/electric motor version of the X-Trail SUV. The new, and most likely small, urban cars that Ghosn envisages are likely to use more advanced, better-developed versions of the same technology.
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Re: Nissan: Electric cars by 2010
Good point. Until we start generating electricity in a greener fashion, all electric cars do is move the pollution elsewhere.
Re: Nissan: Electric cars by 2010
Electric cars have short ranges and can't meet most peoples needs.
They are also boring, unsafe and not as eco-friendly as people think.
They're not zero-emmissions if the electricity comes from gas and coal!