Nissan May Make Electric Vehicles in China

23 November, 2009 04:16:00

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Nissan will import electric vehicles into China initially and may make them locally later, a senior Nissan executive on Sunday.

Yasuaki Hashimoto, president of Nissan (China) Investment Co Ltd., disclosed the possible factory plans at a ceremony in which Nissan and its Chinese JV partner Dongfeng Motor Co. signed an agreement with the Guangzhou government to set up an electric-car program.

"I am sure we are going to build electric vehicles in China, totally depending on demand in the country," he said. "We believe China is one of the biggest potential markets for electric vehicles."

Under that agreement, which is part of Nissan's global effort to help accelerate use of electric vehicles, the Japanese company will work with the city government to study ways to promote "zero-emission" cars like the Leaf, which Nissan plans to start test-marketing in the U.S. and Japan late next year and in China in 2011.

According to China's auto industry development plan released in March, China will have an annual capacity of producing 500,000 electric and hybrid cars in three year, and sales of ‘new energy cars’ will account for 5% of the total sales by 2012.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has entered into more than 30 electric vehicle partnerships with 16 countries and territories around the world. In China, Guangzhou is the third city that accepts Nissan Motor's EV development plan, after Hong Kong and Wuhan.

In August 2009, the Nissan Leaf, as the world's first economical EV model with no emission, hit the market. After the debut in Japan, the US, and Europe in the second half of 2010, the developer intends to unveil this product in China in 2011.

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