Nissan has unveiled a few more details this week about the electric vehicle it will launch in only 18 months.
Mark Perry, director of Product Planning and Strategy for Nissan Americas, said the EV will be a "real car" offering real-world practicality. It will be a five-door hatchback with a 100-mile range on a single charge and will be "aggressively priced."
That means, he said, no EV technology premium, unlike current hybrids that sometimes sell for 20 percent more than comparably priced cars.
Furthermore, the Nissan EV will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, he said, and there may be other state and local incentives to reduce the cost even more.
Perry discussed the upcoming EV with Green Car Advisor at a Southern California event introducing Nissan's electric drive system - although in a retrofitted Nissan Cube "mule" rather than in the car the company plans to put on sale.
The test car features the future EV's advanced lithium-ion battery pack and Perry said it provides enough power that that some journalists "lit up the tires" driving the test car on this nationwide tour being held to introduce the battery-electric powertrain.
On our tantalizingly short test-drive, the Cube test car was amazingly quiet and moved seamlessly - no whirring and of course, no shifting. The only apparent compromise is that the backseat of the Cube was raised to allow the installation of the battery pack beneath the floorboards.
Perry said the car could be recharged at three levels. Household current (110 volts) would require 14 hours for a full recharge while 220-volt power - available in most homes and businesses - would recharge it in four hours. At special 480 volt-recharging stations the car could be brought up to 80 percent of its capacity in about 20 minutes, which, he said, was the average amount of time Americans take when stopping at a fast food restaurant.
He pointed out that there are already 4,500 public and private recharging stations in California left from unsuccessful efforts in the 1990s to introduce a practical electric infrastructure.
Nissan's product planers determined the EV's 100-mile range to be both "rational and emotional" Perry said. An 88-mile range wouldn't impress people, but a triple-digit capability would be exciting. Besides that, he said, most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day and 98 percent drive less than 100 miles per day.
The car's range was measured on the "LA4 cycle" which mixes highway and city driving. Driver variations (lead or feather-footed drivers) would have a 10 to 15 percent impact on the 100-mile figure. The acceleration of the coming EV compares to that of a current compact car, Perry said.
While we were limited to the Cube, Perry said he has seen the actual EV that Nissan has designed and will introduce for sale in the fourth quarter next year in 12 to 15 U.S. markets.
"It is a dedicated all-new car, not the conversion of something we already offer," he said. He described the look of the car as "iconic" adding, "You need something that is different enough to let people know you are driving a special car."
It would cost about 90 cents to "fill the tank" on the EV - making the cost of its fuel less than a penny a mile.
Asked if America is ready for electric cars, Perry said that while not everyone is prepared to switch, "a significant number of people are eager to have a zero-emission car with a 100-mile range."
Source: Green Car Advisor
Mark Perry, director of Product Planning and Strategy for Nissan Americas, said the EV will be a "real car" offering real-world practicality. It will be a five-door hatchback with a 100-mile range on a single charge and will be "aggressively priced."
That means, he said, no EV technology premium, unlike current hybrids that sometimes sell for 20 percent more than comparably priced cars.
Furthermore, the Nissan EV will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, he said, and there may be other state and local incentives to reduce the cost even more.
Perry discussed the upcoming EV with Green Car Advisor at a Southern California event introducing Nissan's electric drive system - although in a retrofitted Nissan Cube "mule" rather than in the car the company plans to put on sale.
The test car features the future EV's advanced lithium-ion battery pack and Perry said it provides enough power that that some journalists "lit up the tires" driving the test car on this nationwide tour being held to introduce the battery-electric powertrain.
On our tantalizingly short test-drive, the Cube test car was amazingly quiet and moved seamlessly - no whirring and of course, no shifting. The only apparent compromise is that the backseat of the Cube was raised to allow the installation of the battery pack beneath the floorboards.
Perry said the car could be recharged at three levels. Household current (110 volts) would require 14 hours for a full recharge while 220-volt power - available in most homes and businesses - would recharge it in four hours. At special 480 volt-recharging stations the car could be brought up to 80 percent of its capacity in about 20 minutes, which, he said, was the average amount of time Americans take when stopping at a fast food restaurant.
He pointed out that there are already 4,500 public and private recharging stations in California left from unsuccessful efforts in the 1990s to introduce a practical electric infrastructure.
Nissan's product planers determined the EV's 100-mile range to be both "rational and emotional" Perry said. An 88-mile range wouldn't impress people, but a triple-digit capability would be exciting. Besides that, he said, most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day and 98 percent drive less than 100 miles per day.
The car's range was measured on the "LA4 cycle" which mixes highway and city driving. Driver variations (lead or feather-footed drivers) would have a 10 to 15 percent impact on the 100-mile figure. The acceleration of the coming EV compares to that of a current compact car, Perry said.
While we were limited to the Cube, Perry said he has seen the actual EV that Nissan has designed and will introduce for sale in the fourth quarter next year in 12 to 15 U.S. markets.
"It is a dedicated all-new car, not the conversion of something we already offer," he said. He described the look of the car as "iconic" adding, "You need something that is different enough to let people know you are driving a special car."
It would cost about 90 cents to "fill the tank" on the EV - making the cost of its fuel less than a penny a mile.
Asked if America is ready for electric cars, Perry said that while not everyone is prepared to switch, "a significant number of people are eager to have a zero-emission car with a 100-mile range."
Source: Green Car Advisor
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