Japs See Future in Electric Cars

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/6/27/95548.shtml?s=te

Nissan Motor Co. Sees Future in Electric Cars

NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, June 27, 2007

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said Wednesday his company is

working hard to develop the next generation of smaller, lighter auto

batteries - a technology that holds promise for electric cars as well as for

hybrids.

He also said Nissan and its French partner Renault SA are moving ahead with

studies on a $3,000 car for the Indian market.

As demand for green vehicles grows, automakers are racing to develop viable

lithium ion batteries, which are common in gadgets such as laptops and cell

phones but have yet to be fully adapted to the more rigorous demands of a

car engine.

Nissan, which has fallen behind rivals Toyota and Honda in hybrid vehicles,

recently opened a new tech center in Japan to develop environmentally

friendly technologies.

Nissan Motor Co. last year introduced a hybrid vehicle with nickel-metal

hydride batteries, but it licenses the technology from Toyota.

Ghosn believes that Nissan's investment in green technologies will help it

narrow the gap or even put it ahead of competitors down the road.

"We continue on the lithium ion battery. We think for us it's a competitive

advantage," he told reporters during a press conference in Bangkok. "We have

a lot of technology is this area, and we think this is going to be very

helpful, not only for hybrids but also for electric cars."

While consumer interest has surged in gas-and-electric hybrid cars due to

higher fuel prices and global warming, the Brazilian-born Ghosn said Nissan

was serious about going one step further and introducing vehicles powered

only by electricity.

"If you have an efficient battery for a hybrid, why not go all the way and

go for electric cars?" he asked. "It has zero emissions of anything."

Electric cars have failed to catch on because they are expensive, difficult

to recharge and travel limited distances. Still, several auto companies are

trying to develop them for the mass market.

Ghosn said Nissan was currently negotiating a deal to put a fleet of

electric cars in the Japanese market in cooperation with local governments,

which would need to provide necessary infrastructure such as charging

stations. He declined to give a timeframe or specific number, saying only

"hundreds."

He stressed that Nissan was investing in various kinds of green

technologies, not just hybrids, which has been a key focus for Toyota.

"We said from the beginning, we need to develop all the technologies," he

said. "We can't afford to squeeze any one of them: hybrid, fuel cell,

electric, diesel, biofuel. Because we still don't know how the market will

react."

Ghosn, who is also chief executive of Renault, said last week that Nissan

decided to explore the viability of a $3,000 car after an Indian rival said

it was coming out with one. Indian automaker Tata Motors Ltd. has announced

that it plans to make a 100,000-rupee, or $2,500, car in India.

"Frankly, that's something that challenges us," Ghosn said Wednesday. "These

people are serious, we take them seriously."

Such an ultra-cheap car "could have a big potential - bigger than India," he

said.

Renault began selling its popular Logan in India earlier this year through a

joint venture with local automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, but it's priced in a

range of $9,700 to $12,400.

Ghosn said Nissan and Renault are contacting suppliers in India and

analyzing all aspects of producing the less expensive car.

He said if the companies decide to make the car, they will make two

different versions from the same platform, one for Nissan and one for

Renault.

Nissan formed an alliance with Renault in 1999. Renault owns a 44 percent

stake in Nissan, which in turn holds 15 percent of the French auto maker.