Word: nissans
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...clunkers has been a green success. The clunkers averaged 15.8 m.p.g., compared with 25.4 m.p.g. for the new vehicles purchased, for an average fuel-economy increase of 61%. On the whole, American drivers are trading in inefficient trucks and SUVs for much more efficient passenger cars. Car manufacturers like Nissan are already retooling some models to improve their fuel economy so they can qualify for the credits. The early numbers were enough to convince California Senator Dianne Feinstein to go from criticizing cash for clunkers as too lax to supporting additional funding for the bill in the Senate. "This program...
...Overseas, Nissan is in talks from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Singapore to establish charging networks and promote what it calls "zero-emission mobility." In the U.S., Nissan and its French partner, Renault, are joining forces with Better Place, which is developing a system of EV service stations where battery packs can be quickly replaced instead of recharged, making "fill-ups" no more time-consuming than topping up fuel tanks with gas. Nissan also has a tie with Europcar, a car-rental company, to roll out EVs throughout European countries including France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and the U.K. from...
...Tatsuo Yoshida, senior analyst at UBS Securities Japan, says, "Nissan is very shrewd leveraging politicians and political power." Nowadays, many local and regional politicians jump at the chance to be perceived as sensitive to environmental concerns and so are eager to partner with Nissan. "They want an EV-assembly site or a battery-assembly site as an icon," says Yoshida. "So the motivation of the politicians and the motivation of Nissan matches. It's very clever." (Watch TIME's video about charging your electric car for 60 cents...
...Another smart move for Nissan is what Richter calls the "batteries not included" approach. The lithium-ion batteries that power the Leaf are expensive - about $10,000 per car - so Nissan is leasing battery packs to buyers rather than selling them with the EV, reducing the sticker price...
...Nissan plans to build 50,000 EVs at its Oppama plant in its first full year of production. The company anticipates sales of 200,000 in 2012, when the car will be sold globally. Richter says 200,000 is a conservative goal. But Yoshida argues that it's far from certain drivers will switch. "There's still a big question mark [regarding sales] because of consumer perception caused by the limitation of driving range...