Nissan to build EVs at its Oppama assembly plant in Japan
As Nissan gets ever closer to Job 1 for its new dedicated battery electric vehicle, the question arises: Where does it get built? That question has now been answered with the announcement that its Oppama factory near Kanagawa will be the initial source of its EVs. Production will start in the fall of 2010 with low volumes that will initially go to various commercial and government fleet customers. Over the following two years, production will be ramped up toward full retail availability in 2012. Nissan's Yokohama plant will build motors while inverters will be sourced from its Zama facility. The Zama battery factory, run by the Auotomotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) joint venture, will also supply the lithium ion battery packs. The powertrain and batteries are currently being tested in prototypes based on the first generation Cube, but the car that will be produced next year is an all-new ground-up design.
[Source: Nissan]
PRESS RELEASE:
NISSAN TO BUILD ELECTRIC VEHICLES AT OPPAMA PLANT
TOKYO (May 12, 2009) - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the company will produce electric vehicles (EV) at its Oppama Plant (Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa) from fall 2010.
The Oppama Plant is a core base of Nissan's manufacturing and will be positioned as the model plant for best practices in EV production. In the fall of 2010, the plant will start EV production with capacity of 50,000 units a year, which will continuously increase for the start of EV mass-marketing in 2012. Motors and inverters, which are key components of EVs, will be built at the Yokohama Plant (Takara-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa), and initially in the Zama Operations Center (Hironodai, Zama City, Kanagawa), respectively. In addition, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC), one of Nissan's affiliated companies based in Zama Operations Center, will produce laminated-type compact lithium-ion batteries for EVs.
Aiming to a be a global leader in zero-emission vehicles, Nissan will continuously seek overseas production opportunities for EVs and sourcing of components.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lne937s 12:05PM (5/13/2009)
Nissan/Renault have put themself in a leadership position for electric cars. As the battery is one of the most expensive parts of a battery car and they are building their own, they end up with all of the rewards if it catches on.
I wonder what this is for...From Nissan's FY 2009 projections:
R&D expenses of 400 billion yen (US $4.21 billion, euro 3.2 billion); and
Capital expenditures of 350 billion yen (US $3.68 billion, euro 2.8 billion).
$8 billion in R&D/Capital spending in one year is a lot for a car maker that sells 3 million cars a year... More than 10% of total projected sales.
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2009/_STORY/090512-01-e.html
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