Nissan locks in EV

ON THE same day it posted a ¥137.9 billion ($A1.79 billion) operating loss for its fiscal year ending March 31, Nissan Motor Company has confirmed production of the small electric family car that is likely to be among Australia’s first EVs come 2012.

Nissan said it would manufacture electric vehicles at its Oppama plant in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture from about October 2010, with initial annual EV capacity of 50,000 vehicles “rising gradually in preparation for the launch of EV mass-marketing in 2012”.

The Oppama plant currently builds the March (Micra), Cube, Tiida, Bluebird Sylphy and Note models, but, along with restating its ambition to become a global leader in zero-emission vehicles, Nissan says it “will continuously seek overseas production opportunities for EVs and sourcing of components”.

As part of its FY2008 earning announcement also made on May 12, Nissan also committed to launching eight all-new models in its 2009 financial year.

They include the next-generation Patrol SUV in the Middle East, the Pixo city-car in Europe, the NV200 van, Fuga luxury sedan, a new mini-car in Japan (which could be a production version of the wild Qazana concept), a new global “entry car” in Asia, and the G37 convertible and 370Z convertible replacements in the US.

Nissan said electric motors for the EVs will be produced at its Yokohama plant, with inverters to be supplied by another Kanagawa Prefecture plant, Nissan’s Zama Operations Center. Zama-based Nissan affiliate Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) will manufacture the EVs’ laminated-type compact lithium-ion battery packs.

Nissan has committed to releasing a small EV in Australia in 2012, and plans to sell what is expected to be a Corolla-sized hatchback employing electric drive technology seen in its Mixim EV concept for less than $30,000.

Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV city-car was the first EV to receive official Australian Design Rule approval (although at least two local aftermarket operations offer converted Mazda2 and Hyundai Getz EVs), and is currently undergoing fleet and government trials here ahead of a possible launch in 2010.

The all-electric i-MiEV four-seater is expected to cost at least $30,000, as is the plug-in Volt hybrid Holden has committed to importing from 2012. While it is not an all-electric vehicle because it employs a petrol-powered engine to regenerate battery power, GM’s “extended-range” EV technology is arguably better suited to the long distances outside Australia’s capital cities than many pure-electric vehicles.

Both public and private recharging infrastructure, plus electric vehicle standards and certification, battery disposal and recycling, and guidelines for emergency crews dealing with potentially live electric cables are among a range of EV issues now being discussed by taskforce established by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Toyota’s pioneering Prius hybrid, which is expected to be less expensive than the current model ($37,400) when the third generation is released here in July (when an even cheaper version of the MkII Prius could join it on sale), will not have a plug-in recharging function.

Nor will Honda’s second-generation Insight hybrid, which was Japan’s top-selling vehicle overall in April and will not arrive Down Under until the second half of 2010. Depending on future exchange rates, it could also be priced below $30,000, but will certainly be more affordable than Australia’s only other mainstream petrol-electric car, the Civic Hybrid ($35,990).

Toyota’s FT-EV city-car could also be a sub-$30,000 proposition, but like the Focus EV that Ford will produce in the US from 2011, is yet to be confirmed for Australia. Like the i-MiEV, the FT-EV is substantially smaller than Prius, Civic, Insight, Volt, Focus and Nissan’s yet-to-be-named EV.

The latter has been tipped to emerge at the Tokyo or Frankfurt motors shows later this year, before going on sale in the US and Japan in 2010, some European markets in 2011 and Australia in 2012.

Its NEC-developed lithium-ion battery pack (which could be leased by owners rather than being part of the purchase price, representing what Nissan says will be lower running costs than a conventional petrol car) is claimed to offer petrol V6-like performance and an all-electric driving range of about 160km – similar to the i-MiEV and Volt.

Meantime, Nissan’s 2008 fiscal year result – including net revenues of ¥8.437 trillion yen ($A109b) and a net loss of ¥233.7 billion ($A3.03b) was better than the company forecast disclosed at its third-quarter financial results filing on February 9, when it said it would post an operating loss of ¥180 billion ($A2.29b). It was also better than the $A8.3 billion lost by Toyota in the same period.

“The global economic recession and financial crisis continue, but we are beginning to see some signs of improved access to credit, the impact of government stimulus packages and a gradual return in consumer confidence,” said Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “We remain cautious about the economic environment and fully focused on our company’s recovery efforts.” Nissan sold a total of 3,411,000 vehicles worldwide in its 2008 fiscal year 2008, which was down 9.5 per cent on the prior year thanks to sales downturns in the US (-19.1 per cent), Japan (-15.1 per cent) and Europe (-16.7 per cent). Nissan’s “General Overseas Markets” unit was up 7.1 per cent due to its lone growth market of China.

Mr Ghosn said Nissan’s 2009 fiscal year, in which the company plans to sell fewer vehicles again at 3.08 units, will be another “challenging” year in which it expects to post another albeit reduced operating loss of ¥100 billion ($A1.37b).

“Our priorities will be preserving cash, improving our profitability and pursuing deeper synergies within the Renault-Nissan Alliance. We are balancing short and long-term objectives to manage through the crisis and to prepare for the future,” he said.

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