Nissan Motor Co. (7201.T) plans to produce electric vehicles and their
batteries in the U.S. to take advantage of low-interest loans for green
vehicles, according to a Reuters report that cited the Nikkei business
daily.
The company will make the vehicles at its North American
headquarters in Smyrna, Tennessee, following an estimated investment of
50 billion yen ($516.4 million) to 100 billion yen, according to the
report.
The facility is expected to produce 50,000 to 100,000 electric vehicles a year by 2012, beginning with a small passenger car.
Nissan already has announced plans to produce 50,000 electric cars a year in Japan starting in fall 2010.
The report said Nissan also will build a separate production
facility in cooperation with its lithium-ion battery partner NEC Corp
(NIPNF.PK). That facility will also be in Smyrna.
In February, Nissan was the first Japanese automaker to apply for U.S. funds to support the automobile industry. At that time the amount of the loan request was uknown.
The Nikkei report cited a source who said Nissan will soon
receive approval for a loan of more than 100 billion yen ($1.3
billion).
Nissan has development deals to introduce electric cars in China, California, Ireland an numerous other locations around the world.
