evnow
Well-known member
http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2011/profile/nissan.php
From the Ghosn interview ...
4. Nissan
For creating the Leaf, the first mass- market all- electric car
Not long ago, Nissan was being pilloried for a lineup with few hybrid options, as well as CEO Carlos Ghosn's stubborn insistence on investing in unproven all-electric technology. Among the skeptics: his own employees. But with the Leaf, Ghosn has proven the naysayers shortsighted, and grabbed the lead for Nissan in the race toward truly sustainable transportation. Ghosn sat down with Fast Company to talk about the Leaf, the imperative to embrace change, and the hope of emerging markets
From the Ghosn interview ...
How did Nissan get ahead in the all-electric race?
It was a big decision to go in this direction in 2006. The first reason was we thought we could change the battery. We had technology to invest in. Number two, we had the consciousness that something had to be done about global warming. Number three, oil was becoming an issue -- not only an environmental issue but a political issue. A trade issue. Then, a fourth element was that the Asian markets were exploding. In 10 years, you're not going to have 700 million cars driven every day on the planet; you're going to have 2 billion. If you already have an emissions problem with 700 million cars, what problems are you going to have with 2 billion?
....
What in your background makes you adaptable?
Change has always been part of my life. I was born in Brazil in a region that was not even a territory. If you saw a picture of Porto Velho then, you would be shocked. It was in the middle of the Amazon. I spent five years there, then went to Lebanon, then to France. Someone once said to me, "You know what an emerging market is because you've always been there." I don't need someone to tell me how people who don't have enough money are going to act, because I know.
