Nissan, hardly a major player in the global hybrid market with its one Toyota-engineered model (the Altima Hybrid), says it is staying out of hybrids altogether when it comes to small cars. Instead, Nissan plans to focus its efforts on zero-emissions electric vehicles.
Speaking at the Shanghai Motor Show, Nissan Senior Vice President Andy Palmer told Automotive News that EVs are a “more persuasive technology.”
“That’s where we’re directing our efforts,” he said. “In the small cars, it’s clear we’re going to make the EV happen.”
It seems clear that Nissan won’t create a small car hybrid entry to compete with the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, though the automaker is planning to launch an Infiniti-badged hybrid in the next year. By comparison, Toyota is planning to integrate its hybrid system into its Yaris small car and Honda says it is working on a hybrid Fit.
Nissan’s small EV could arrive in North America as early as 2010. Its batteries, developed through a partnership with NEC, will be built in Smyrna, Tennessee, if Nissan gets the United States Department of Energy loan it applied for recently. The Japanese automaker recently began a coast-to-coast tour of its Cube-based EV prototype.
04/21, 4:24 PM
posted by:
JakeK66
” zero-emissions” is the biggest hoax their is. Energy has to come from somewhere to charge these batteries. Maybe some will be powered by solar and wind energy as well as hydropower (more devestating to an environment than a coal plant is btw), but most will be charged up by coal and nuclear power that has it’s own emissions. I’m all for coal and Nuclear power, I think they are the most effecient ways of getting energy today – just ask Europe.
04/21, 4:52 PM
posted by:
orangecones
I think this is an interesting thing Nissan is doing. First they are saying all Ininities will be hybrids in a short number of years. Now they are saying Nissan will have no hybrids (outside the Toyota Altima). Anyway, all that aside, I would welcome a (sub)compact EV priced at $20k and accessible for the common (urban) driver.
Jake, as for the Zero-Emissions… It is a buzzword yes, and it is not really zero emissions because the juice needs to come from somewhere. Of course, the source of the term is the fact that the vehicle itself puts out no harmful gasses. Also, even taking Coal because it is the most common energy source in the US, it is more efficient to ship it from mine to power plant once, burn it and deliver the juice by wire. Also, we can produce Coal domestically, while we are pretty much entirely dependent on Middle East and Venezuela for oil. Also the hope is that coal is a temporary solution, and that eventually more eco-friendly power plants will spring up.
04/21, 5:12 PM
posted by:
Hyperion
Wow. Wonderful news. So the next great hybrid Prius fighter from Nissan is now out the window and this being the same hybrid car that took all engineering and resources away from the defunct 240SX project.
Very nice, Nissan. Now that you’ve come to your senses and reasoned off a hybrid, may I have my 1.6L 240SX turbo now? Your 370Z is too expensive for me and it only has two seats and enough room in the back for a duffel bag.
04/21, 5:47 PM
posted by:
Borat
Since Renault is experimenting with electric vehicle and Nissan has not succeeded with its own hybrid development, this the best Nissan can come up with. Not a bad approach: based on parent Renault.
04/21, 5:48 PM
posted by:
JakeK66
Yeah but orangecones, can you imagine the ego-emissions that will be coming from the hollywood elites who will be parading in this like they saved the earth single-handidly, all the while they’re heating and cooling three 20,000 sq.ft houses across the globe?
04/21, 6:19 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
I don’t know quite else how to put this, but I think they took a good long look at the whole hybrid deal and just gave up. They’re already way behind the Toyota and Honda (and even Ford) 8 ball so what do you do? Try to play catch up? Keep using the other guy’s tech? Or just skip question ‘B’ and move on to “C”?. There’s no penalty for not playing the hybrid game although I have to believe that over the next decade hybrid sales will do nothing but climb so maybe there is a disadvantage. Still, if Nissan is among the first or the first to market a truly affordable pure EV this could be the path to take. Money’s tight these days. If times were different then their decision may also have been different.
Just curious however, if Dodge is building their next Titan will they offer the hybrid version?
04/21, 8:01 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
I’m tired of spin. This isn’t zero emissions.
04/21, 8:57 PM
posted by:
inspire
It’s so funny to see when people think of oil dependence the US has, they automatically think they get most of their oil from the Middle East and Venezuela. That’s because of the US-media fear (hate?) mongering by the conservative right-wing agenda. Last time I checked, the US would be screwed if Canada stopped sending oil south (Canada is well ahead of any other country for petroleum products but just slightly ahead of Saudi for crude oil.)
Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html
Going back on topic … maybe Nissan / Renault have it right. Don’t waste precious resources on a dying cause (ie hybrid). Go straight to electric since it would seem logical to go with electric (provided they figure out a way to make batteries durable and less sensitive to temperature extremes).
Now … if they can figure out how to make a “Mr Fusion” like in Back to the Future … then that would truly be the day when the US would no longer be dependent on oil.
04/22, 1:14 AM
posted by:
Patriot
This is a smart move. Hybrids are only a stepping stone to a fundamentally different and better technology. The market for them will die off relatively quickly once battery technology improves and charging stations become more ubiquitous.
04/22, 7:24 AM
posted by:
carstuff
Inspire, we are dependent on the mid east countries. Dependent means we are screwed if it gets cut off and as we all know the mideast screws us just by turning down the output slightly from their country. It raises the price for everyone. Yes Canada is a huge oil supplier but we are still dependent on the mideast. It would take a lot to piss Canada off and stop shipping oil to us. Pretty low on my concern list.
Electric is the future but it is a long ways off for our needs in this country. First we need at least a 200 mile range in a normal vehicle other than a lightweight, expensive compact. Batteries are not there yet. Also we need, with a 200 mile range, a 10 minute recharge time. This is all coming but it is most likely not feasible for quite a while.