Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Nissan Will Make Three More Electric Vehicles For The U.S.

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 11:23 AM PDT

As electric cars begin to roll out of factories, every car company is taking a different stance. Some are sitting on the sidelines, watching what will happen, others are placing safe bets with hybrid cars. Nissan, however, seems ready to charge full-speed ahead with electric vehicles, even though the only people to drive the Leaf so far are a handful of journalists.

Nissan plans to build three more electric cars for the U.S. in addition to the Leaf. So what do they have planned?

To me, Nissan has long been an understated car maker. I’ve owned a Nissan, and it was a great car. Everybody I know who has owned a Nissan still owns a Nissan. So I can dig longevity on any vehicle, though in terms of excitement they haven’t really been known to set the world on fire, at least not until they announced the Leaf. 90% of Leaf costumers are new to the Nissan brand though, so hopefully that longevity carries into their electric vehicles as well.

Electric cars are still a risky business proposition though right now, as one or two summers of low gas-prices could be enough to convince a lot people that we really don’t need electric cars quite yet. They also carry a price premium, and if today’s elections go a certain way, all of the tax incentives for electric vehicles might not be long for this world. The initial response has been great, but it is sustained interest that will really pave the way for electric cars.

So what, says Nissan. After the Leaf gets rolling, Nissan has an electric Infiniti, a small electric van, and an electrified urban car ready to roll out in the next four years. They truly believe there will be a market for a wide variety of electric vehicles, and soon. I am down with a luxury Leaf and an electric van (which should be a hit with business owners), but I am not sure about an urban electric car. City folk tend to do less driving anyway, and unless they can price such a car to be competitive with cheap runabouts like the Ford Fiesta or Toyota Yaris, that might be a car they have a tough time selling. Maybe not though.

I still want to see a major automaker undertake an affordable electric sports car though. Nissan has a very strong sports car heritage, so i will be a little disappointed if another major car maker beats them to the punch. And no, the Tesla Roadster does not count as “affordable.”

Source: Detroit News
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