Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Nissan plans to introduce a number of electric cars in the United States by 2010.
Nissan, an alliance partner of Renault SA of France, will launch electric vehicles in the U.S. and Japan in 2010, and globally by 2012, Mr. Ghosn said at a Nissan event in Portugal. He said he expects the market for electric vehicles to grow strongly due to high oil prices, a new awareness of environmental issues and breakthroughs in battery technology.
Eventually, Nissan “will have a whole lineup of electric cars,” he said. “The electric car is not a niche product for us.”
Mr. Ghosn said battery-technology advances have given the electric car sufficient range to make it a viable mode of transport for the shorter journeys often made by commuters in big cities. Globally about 10 million vehicles are being used in this way, he said.
High oil prices and the willingness of governments to give tax incentives for so-called zero-emission vehicles can change the economics of owning an electric car and make it “cheaper than gasoline,” Mr. Ghosn said.
Nissan and Renault are in talks with “companies, governments and cities,” to see what kind of incentives can make the introduction of zero-emission vehicles more attractive, he said.
Mr. Ghosn expects new areas of business will open as electric vehicles become more widespread, including making the batteries and providing access to batteries and electricity. Moving beyond merely making cars could see “a change of the business model” in the auto industry.
I have my wallet out and I am ready to purchase an electric car that costs $50K or less, has a range of at least 60 miles, similar safety features as a regular car, and a top speed of at least 70 mph. Here in Dallas where I live, electric cars would make a big difference with air quality issues alone, and I’d love to see cleaner air here.
Let’s hope we’ll see a real electric car that people can actually purchase in the next year or two! (Yes, Tesla and Phoenix Motorcars, the “can actually purchase” jibe is aimed squarely at you. Won’t it be embarrassing if Nissan beats you to market?)
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1 Feb 08 |
Photo courtesy of uzvards at Flickr.com.
Israel imports about 99 percent of its oil supplies. This fuel situation makes Israelis particularly sensitive to blockade, and the country’s economy is getting hammered by rising oil prices. Perhaps that’s why electric cars are taking off in Tel Aviv.
Thanks in part to a tax system that heavily favors electric vehicles, companies are designing and testing all-electric Israeli cars, and imports of hybrid vehicles are way up! If a combination of new technology and tax incentives works in Israel, perhaps the future will bring similar developments stateside. Wouldn’t it be ironic if a company in the Middle East put Big Oil out of business?
Photo courtesy of Project Better Place and Photographer Israel Hadari at Flickr.com.
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Flickr photo courtesy of neilmcintyre.ca.
I love reading the Wall Street Journal. They have some of the best environmental news out there, and it always includes hard numbers and a realistic and practical economic perspective.
Two recent articles that non-subscribers like me should know about.
1. A front page story last week covered the race to make a viable battery that will power future electric cars, like the Tesla and the Phoenix Motorcars SUT that we have previously blogged about over and over again.
But there is one thing the car people won’t be charged up about: batteries. For all the hoopla, nobody yet has figured out how to make a small enough battery that will hold a big enough charge for these new cars — and not be a risk to burst into flames.
The limits of electric-car technology are achingly clear in one of the most-heralded cars on the drawing board: GM’s Chevy Volt. GM executives mention the prototype, which the Detroit auto maker aims to put into production in three years, nearly every time they discuss their vision for “gas free” cars. But GM still hasn’t solved the battery problem.
A handful of companies are racing to come up with a battery suitable for this next generation of electric cars. The competition pits big Asian battery makers against a gaggle of small start-ups, most of them based in the U.S. Each is trying to come up with a viable power source for long-range electric cars and for gasoline-electric hybrids such as the Volt, which rely far more on electricity than do hybrids currently on the market.
2. There’s a new plug-in luxury hybrid car in town from Silicon Valley that I had never heard of until today’s paper! The Fisker Karma, pictured above thanks to someone over on Flickr, will supposedly be able to go up to 50 miles on electric power, and will launch by late 2009. (Let’s hope their shipping schedule isn’t like Tesla’s – with delay after delay.)
The latest entrant is expected to be announced today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit when Fisker Automotive Inc. unveils an $80,000 battery-powered luxury car it aims to begin delivering in late 2009. The Fisker Karma, a so-called plug-in hybrid, can go 50 miles on electricity before a small gasoline engine kicks in to generate electricity to charge a lithium-ion battery pack on board. The company has backing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, perhaps Silicon Valley’s best-known venture-capital firm and a backer of household tech names such as Netscape Communications, Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc.
On a side note, I am in the market for a new car this year. I am considering the old eco-standby, the Prius, of course. But I’m also considering one of these new clean diesels that are coming out later this year, so I can run biodiesel. Specifically, I am thinking about that new Honda Accord 2009 model year diesel that is supposedly about to launch.
Any new car suggestions out there? What should I look at?
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