Although Nissan may be lagging behind its cross-country rivals in hybrid technology, the Japanese automaker is moving full steam ahead with with its electric vehicle plans. Last week at the Geneva Motor Show, Nissan officials announced that the company will have an all-electric vehicle on the road by 2010.
The first batch of electric vehicles — expected to launch in 2010 — will be exclusively test fleet vehicles, and will be testing in Japan and the United States. After that test period, Nissan will begin selling the vehicle worldwide in 2012.
“The first production vehicles will be for regional areas like California,” Masahiko Tabe, Nissan’s manager of advanced vehicle engineering, told Automotive News. “We will later expand the EV all over the world.”
Nissan is currently testing its lithium-ion technology in the Japanese-spec Cube, but failed to mention if the all-electric vehicle would be based on the Cube. The next-generation Cube will be sold here in the U.S. and several Cubes have been spotted in the U.S. over the past few months, indicating that an EV Cube is a strong possibility.
Although Nissan is keeping tight lipped about its upcoming EV, the automaker will unveil an all-electric concept at next week’s New York Auto Show that should hint at the production version. The production version of the EV will reported have a range of 100 miles — with a full charge taking 8 hours — and a top speed of 75 mph. Nissan unveiled its all-electric Mixim concept at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
With 90 percent of commuters driving 62 miles or less per day, Carlos Tavares, Nissan’s executive vice president for global product planning, feels “there is a huge, huge potential there for EVs.”
Check back for more info and live pictures of Nissan’s EV concept at next week’s New York show.
03/10, 1:21 PM
posted by:
F3INT))AP3X
Ya I doubt they will release that car specifically but still, would anyone want a car called the Cube? lol
03/10, 1:28 PM
posted by:
murphy1
wow, that is butt ugly! the polar opposite of the volt concept….
03/10, 1:42 PM
posted by:
Stinky007
I’ll buy an EV, just make it decently priced, not overweight and if possible decently fast on the acceleration!
What, that’s not possible yet? Ok, I’ll wait then! Until then, forgive me while I indulge myself in destroying the planet with the deadly toxic fumes of my petrol engine’s exhaust… Better still, I’ll get an old diesel and pretend I’m saving on gas….
03/10, 1:53 PM
posted by:
Heart64
Cofederate-RedNeckRacin I can understand a pee brain like yourself not wanting one. But I think the Nissan cube is cute. Yeah and I am a man ok. American and I’d buy one over them GM JP’s anyday!
And SuperStench you stay in the dark and eat what the mushrooms get. You obviously are’nt informed.
an all electric Tesla can out hussle a Porsche and Lamborghini from 0-60. Under 4 seconds. Not bad for an electric eh!
03/10, 2:59 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
Bring it on!
03/10, 3:38 PM
posted by:
Heart64
Another dolt who does’nt understand that it does’nt take burning Fossil fuels to make Electricity!
Hmm where to start. Dear LightheadedRace-NoNuts do You understand the principle it usually take energy to produce it. That is until recent technological advances in electrical power.
that’s right as we speak Solar and Wind Farms either as stand alone or as farms could not only replace the Standard Fossil Fuel burning Power Plants completely that Power the Electricity through the Power Grid of California but could do so cleanly for all 50 States.
Ultimately Fusion will give us a ton of Electric power but that may not happen for another 25 to 40 years from now you idiot.
03/10, 4:20 PM
posted by:
sprockkets
Word to Nissan: Scion xBs do not sell here. But whatever.
Today’s engines with ULEV are so clean. Using a hybrid is just a way to reclaim energy lost due to braking.
It is reported that about 70% of all the pollution today is done by 10% of the vehicles, you know, those who drive vehicles falling apart and that burn more oil than they do gas. Or those morons who drive cars from the 60s who pollute just sitting in the driveway, by letting the gas evaporate, which is the worst.
Diesel is not the answer either. Besides, you like the smell they put out? You can only get at max, 50% of a barrel of oil for diesel. We import petrol from Europe since they cannot use it.
Remember when diesel was cheap? Now it is the most expensive. And since China and India like it more than petrol, expect it to go even higher.
03/10, 5:32 PM
posted by:
Heart64
Sprockets I don’t know what part of the country your from Boy but everyone I know in this town owns a Scion XBs. Hell its the right of passage into manhood to own one! So get yourself an xB and STFU boy. Before I feed a Nissan Cube down your throat.
But seriously the Nissan Electic Cube will sell like Hotcakes because its electric and I plan to have my Solar Panels installed by then, and have a court order to have my neighbor chop down all his trees so I can get ever drop of sun light and power their is to be had! Anyone want to disagree with me. I’m a peaceful man and I’ll kill the man who says I ain’t!
03/10, 5:50 PM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
Look, its a battery with wheels.
03/10, 6:24 PM
posted by:
TOZO
The Nissan Altra returns. I’ve only seen one of them on the street, and it was so stupid that it should have been crushed into a cube. That is why the Cube name is so perfect for Nissan’s next EV. It’s a Cube that may as well be crushed into a smaller Cube and tossed in the junkyard.
03/10, 7:49 PM
posted by:
Heart64
Tozo your brain should be crushed in a cube. no on second thought it already has. Someone beat me to it. LMAO
03/10, 9:17 PM
posted by:
autonut
Everybody on the site has a great sense of humor. Putin & Prince Saud appreciate greatly our collective wit and willingness to make them so much richer. Moscow has more billionaires then NYC. Oil at 108/barrel will more of them even richer.
03/10, 10:29 PM
posted by:
jdasch1
If everyone would just get educated on electric vehicles they would be mainstream by now. My Electric truck charges on a 30 amp circuit for about 5 hours at night. It takes the same power as my clothes dryer or my kitchen oven. My power company doesn’t care now if I have my oven on or my EV plugged in. Thats the point. If Electric vehicles start selling tomarrow, it would take years and years for a power grid issue to come up…so quit worrying about the brownouts and blackouts caused by electric vehicles. Its a non issue. We need electric vehicles on the market to be part of the overall energy-transportation solution. I drive about 50 miles a day on about 60 cents worth of electricity. Its a blast to drive short trips with, but I take the gas burners on longer trips. Hopefully Nissan will produce an all electric, but the plug in Hybrids like the Volt and Prius plug in will be more widely accepted.
03/11, 11:58 AM
posted by:
CleanGTO
Is this thing powered by Energon cubes, or the All Spark?
03/18, 1:17 PM
posted by:
Z06ified
Oh no! The Japanese need to stop taking advantage of all the ignorant fools in the U.S. who buy these hideously ugly things (Element, Scion Xb, etc.). My eyes deserve something much better than this to look at. Why should I have to be penalized for other idiots buying such ugly vehicles?
Would somebody please crush this thing and put it out of its misery? Where’s Big Foot or Grave Digger when you need ‘em?
03/18, 1:27 PM
posted by:
Z06ified
“If everyone would just get educated on electric vehicles they would be mainstream by now. My Electric truck charges on a 30 amp circuit for about 5 hours at night.
so quit worrying about the brownouts and blackouts caused by electric vehicles. Its a non issue.
Comment by jdasch1, posted on March10 at 10:29 pm ”
I don’t know what vehicle your “truck” is, but its far
less demanding than the average electric car will be. The Tesla Roadster uses a 70-amp, 240-volt charger. That’s almost 17,000 watts! That’s like 17 microwave ovens running at the same time, or 3 central air conditioning units at the same time. Most area electric grids can’t even handle 2,000 watt room air conditioners running at the same time in the summer.
And the Tesla is a tiny little car. Electric charging demands for a family size sedan will be much greater.
And where is your electric sourced from? If you live in the U.S., most likely from an oil or coal fired power plant.
03/18, 1:30 PM
posted by:
Z06ified
“Sprockets I don’t know what part of the country your from Boy but everyone I know in this town owns a Scion XBs. Hell its the right of passage into manhood to own one!
Comment by Heart64, posted on March10 at 5:32 pm ”
Manhood? It’s more of a right of passage into homosexuality. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if that’s what floats your boat.