Ghosn: Nissan to Introduce Electric Car in 2010, Mass-Production in 2012
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 06.26.08
The Slow Green Conversion of Carlos Ghosn
About 2 years ago, Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn wasn't too impressed with hybrid cars, saying that they are "a nice story, but they’re not a a good business". Then a few months later, he announced that Nissan would license technology from Toyota for its Altima hybrid, and then develop its own hybrid technology. Now this year, Ghosn was heard saying that we needed "zero emission vehicles" to "prevent the world from exploding" (!), and that his preference was for electric cars.
Nissan Shareholder Meeting
The latest stage of Mr. Ghosn's conversion happened at Nissan's shareholder meeting. Ghosn said that Nissan, along with Renault, "has an opportunity to be a world leader in mass-marketing [zero-emission vehicles].” Ghosn said that he hopes to sell 1 million of electric cars a year globally, although without specifying a date. If this was American politics, he would be called a flip-flopper. Thankfully, in the real-world it's a good thing to be able to change your mind.
Ghosn added:
When I say “zero-emission” vehicles, I am referring to electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles, cars that do not burn oil and release zero emissions into the air. Fuel cell vehicles are promising for the future—and Nissan continues to invest in their development—but the production and distribution of hydrogen is yet much more problematic than electricity or batteries. Because the battery technology is more advanced, we will introduce electric vehicles first.
The way Nissan sees it, without the battery, an electric car could be priced similarly to a gasoline-powered car, so it would make sense to lease the battery.
Nissan's Electric Car: Introduction in 2010, Mass-Production in 2012
Nissan will introduce an electric car in the US and Japan in 2010, but global mass-market production will have to wait until 2012. "The Nissan-Renault Alliance has also signed agreements with Project Better Place to mass-market electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark in 2011, and is currently negotiating with other countries in Europe and Asia, Ghosn said."
In-house Hybrid Technology, Clean Diesel
The Altima hybrid used Toyota technology, but Nissan will introduce its own hybrid drivetrain in the US in 2010, along with a "clean diesel" Maxima.
Nissan
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More on Carlos Ghosn Shareholder Speech
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He looks badass in that photo! awesome
This makes me so excited, I think I may have just peed a little (don't tell anyone). I love my 2000 Altima but hate its gas mileage, and so I've been waiting for them to release some cars with some real efficiency as opposed to the Hybrid Altima's piddly fuel economy. Thank goodness they're finally getting it together.
"Because the battery technology is more advanced, we will introduce electric vehicles first"
That would be the coffin in fuel cell vehicles. Since FCV is an electrical car, how likely is it that fuel stack, hydrogen production/distribution, and efficiency can compete with battery (on cost and complexity) once the BEV is established? Look how hard it is right now for the dirtiest, most inefficient, noisy ICE vehicles to be displaced.
Go Nissan!
I love that there are so many electric cars and electric car concepts that are emerging. It upsets me that this could have been done 10 or 20 years ago.
It would not be an understatement to suggest that a (safe) battery with high power/capacity in a small package may be the modern day Holy Grail.
"I love that there are so many electric cars and electric car concepts that are emerging. It upsets me that this could have been done 10 or 20 years ago."
Could have, but to be fair, the battery and electronics in motor controllers have made leaps and bounds in that timespan, not to mention lower cost on both.
I think everyone has totally missed the significance here. Look at Carlos Ghosn in the first photo. Look closely. Really. Look at his expression. Look at his stance. Look at his tunic. Look at his pants. What this photo is saying via Carlos Ghosn is, "PLAID IS BACK BABY! AND I DON'T MEAN MAYBE!
YEEEAAAHHH ! ! !
Ghosn is all business and somewhat famous in Japan for his ruthless style. I think any warm feelings should be withheld until Nissan actually has these cars on the market.
He brought both Nissan and Renault from the dead very recently. He's been called the Iacoca of this century for that alone. He is ruthless, but sure-footed. And he has other companies, infrastructure, and the Israel govt behind him. Its a good bet we'll see his ideas to fruition.
i just hope that 2012 doesn't become 2015 and then 2020 as what seems to be the case with mass production electric cars. I have a nissan mirca at the moment so i would love to have a similar electric sized car. Please may 2012 be the year.
I don't like the idea of leasing the battery.
Companies like Phoenix Motorcars, Aptera, and Obvio are / will be offering electric cars w/ long range batteries at a reasonable price. Why not Nissan?
I think the idea of leasing the battery is a good one. I don't want to deal with the battery if it goes bad or if and when I need a new one. I assume during the lease they will take care of all that. My laptop battery didn't work well after 4 years - guess who had to buy a brand new one and find a safe way to dispose the old one.
What is really striking is that that the dichotomy of American companies vs foreign car. Honda announces good profits and Ford announces record losses. We see Nissan opening N.A. HQ while GM lays off thousands of employees. The American car company business model is flawed, not dynamic and really non-innovative. Kudos to Nissan for reversing course and seeing the now in the market and shifting gears fast. Also, 2 snaps for that rad plaid jump suit, where do I get one? Would you ever see Bob "effhead" Luts wearing such a hip outfit? Not!
2012 is a long ways off. Speed that up a little, please. Sick of the hype. Just churn out some products already. You can brag when you get a waiting list and your production is maxed out.