Nissan unveils zero-emission hatchback “Leaf”
Nissan Motor Co took the wraps off its much-awaited electric car on
Sunday, naming the hatchback “Leaf” and taking a step towards its goal
of leading the industry in the zero-emissions field.
Japan’s No.3 automaker and its French partner, Renault SA, have been
the most aggressive proponents of pure electric vehicles in the auto
industry, announcing plans to mass-market the clean but expensive cars
globally in 2012.
Nissan will begin selling the first Leaf cars in the United States
and Japan in the latter half of next year, adding two more models soon
after. It expects production to start with around 200,000 units a year
at the global roll-out in 2012.
Twinning the car’s unveiling with the inauguration of Nissan’s new
global headquarters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Chief Executive Carlos
Ghosn drove up to a stage in a sky-blue Leaf prototype, carrying former
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and two other guests to greet
a throng of journalists who made the trip from all over the world.
“We celebrate today the start of a new chapter of our company’s
life,” Ghosn said. Nissan is returning to the port city of Yokohama,
where it was founded in 1933, after being based in Tokyo’s posh Ginza
district for the last 41 years.
Hit by sliding vehicle sales worldwide since the financial crisis hit
last year, Nissan has suspended its goals set under a mid-term business
plan, with the exception of its aggressive push into the electric car
business.
With oil prices topping $60 even in a recession and environmental
regulations tightening all the time, Ghosn said he was optimistic about
electric vehicles entering the mainstream, expecting them to represent
one in 10 new cars globally by 2020.
“We are seeing electric cars not as a niche car but as a mass-market
car,” he told reporters after the inauguration.
“The big problem is going to be (production) capacity.” Ghosn
described the Leaf as a “powerful car, like having a turbo” charger
except with no delay in response since there is no gear shift.
Reuters |