Nissan Wants to Sell Electric Car in U.S. by 2010

Nissan recently announced that it plans to sell an all-electric vehicle in the U.S. by 2010. This makes it the first automaker to promise an all-electric vehicle by a specific date.

Chevy's Volt and Toyota's plug-in Prius hybrids both have a 2010 debut date, but neither vehicle will be all-electric. Nissan, it seems, plans to leapfrog the technological hurdles posed by a vehicle that doesn’t rely on a combustible fuel at all. All the old questions remain: What kind of range will it have? How long will it take to recharge the battery? How much will the vehicle cost?

Nissan envisions the car being purchased mostly by city-dwellers at first — and city dwellers who can plug in to an outlet at that — with the market expanding to suburban and rural areas as the lithium-ion battery technology improves. We remain skeptical simply because of the disadvantage inherent in electric vehicles, namely, no extended trips. Still, if Nissan manages to be the first out of the gate with an all-electric vehicle, it could give it a strong foothold in the burgeoning market for more fuel-efficient, low emission vehicles.

Nissan Plans Electric Car in U.S. by '10 (The New York Times)

Comments

Hope to see someone jump in head first and actually produce something. If it gets 100 miles per charge and can go 60mph then that's allright with me. We can use the gas powered car for the longer trips. A vehicle like this would cut my fuel consumption by at least 50-75%. Hope they do this to the next gen Cube. Also can't wait for the Mitsu electric as well. Also - as soon as these are mass produced - it will put a hurtin' on the manufacturers that don't produce one. Say goodbye to Ford and Chrysler.

The EV1 went for 50-70 miles on a charge. What was so bad about that? As a second car, it makes perfect sense for day to day driving.

Shame on GM for closing the project down and focusing on building Escalades, Tahoes and Suburbans instead. Shame indeed.

IT IS VERY NICE

LM, why place blame on GM alone? Honda, Toyota, and yes, Nissan, all had EVs in California in the late 1990s and you can't buy or lease any of them any more.

GM spent more money than any of them developing their car, marketing it, and distributing it. They also had many more EV1s on the street than Honda and Toyota had EV Plusses and RAV4 Electrics combined. I drove all of them (well, except the Nissan which I only saw in static displays and was very rare) and the EV1 was the most efficient and highly developed of them all.

Remember that back at the time GM leased the EV1 gas was something like $1.25/gallon, the public were buying SUVs like crazy, and, oh yeah, GM was hemoraging billion of dollars in losses. Well, at least two of these things have changed since then.

I'm not saying that there isn't some blame for the whole auto industry, but don't just blame GM without mentioning the other manufacturers, spineless government officials, the oil industry, and a buyng public with the long-term memory of gnats.

So, are they making the EV Cube for REAL?!
I would be happy to jump in the line to wait for it!!!

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That sounds like a good idea. I thought Nissan will be bringing out their own hybrid powertrain for the Altima. An all electric will be costly. but bringing an all electric would prove.

Good for you Nissan, you're timing is perfect. I will be in the market for a vehicle in 2010. How can I get on the waiting list? No demand for electric vehicle ins't that right GM (EV1)?
Maybe you shouldn't have destroyed that car after all.

I want to buy a car like that! I drive 30 miles to and from work everyday. I do not need a gas guzzler, an electric would work perfect for my budget.

Hi everyone. Interesting comments.

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