Nissan has laid out its plans to produce EVs and batteries (with help from NEC corp.) in the U.S. to tap into low-interest loans. The Japanese automaker applied for $1.1 billion in low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund its building of 50,000 to 100,000 electric vehicles a year by 2012. The site will be Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee plant.
"We are committed to the vision of energy independence, environmental sustainability, and the new energy economy, and we are hopeful that the U.S. Department of Energy approves this loan request," Nissan said in a statement.
Nissan previously said that it wanted to get its EVs on U.S. roads by 2010, and has been testing a battery-powered prototype of the Cube called the EV-02 across the country.
jkp1187 says:
01:40 PM, 06/22/09
Okay. So another car manufacturer tacitly admitting that it can't make the EV business model work, so it goes begging to the US gov't for help? Is that what I'm seeing here?
estreka says:
02:08 PM, 06/22/09
I'm not really sure how much testing these electric cars really need. Isn't it obvious that they aren't feasible just yet?
Still, with the taxpayer footing the development costs, Nissan could possibly produce these at an affordable price.
billt9 says:
04:33 PM, 06/22/09
Well we want to have these things on the road, so the OPEC countries have no bargaining chips.
Then the US can freely declare "peace keeping missions" on those countries who ally with the terrorists and drug traffickers. Perhaps we can declare some "nuclear peace keeping missions" on said countries too.
That's the reason for energy independence, as it always has been.
cwc1 says:
04:45 PM, 06/22/09
The government cash drawer is wide open for anyone who wants to come with their hand out. How about giving some to me, so that I'll be able to afford to pay for things when inflation goes wild and the dollar isn't worth the paper it's printed on? (Not that it isn't already...)
billt9 says:
05:19 PM, 06/22/09
I don't see how you will help bomb OPEC countries. You can't even beat 007. And he's only a movie character.