History of Nissan EV from 2006

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evnow

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Apr 22, 2010
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Here is the time line.

2006 : Ghosn overruled Nissan’s researchers and approved high-volume EV manufacturing (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... EVrzt2t.8o)

January 2007 : Shimon Peres, Ghosn, Shai Agassi agree to build an EV infrastructure (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... EVrzt2t.8o)

August 29, 2007 : Nissan announcing Mixim all-electric concept for the Frankfurt autoshow, announces that an EV for electric SuperMotor technology could launch at the end of the decade in Japan

Mar 19, 2008 : Nissan Denki Cube EV concept unvieled at NewYork auto show

April 29, 2008 : Ghosn says real portfolio of electrics in Nissan and Renault starting with an EV in the Us in 2010 (http://www.businessweek.com/print/lifes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... 081929.htm)

Mar 18, 2009 : NissanEV starts tweeting

Aug 1, 2009 : Nissan Leaf unvieled in Japan

Mar 30, 2010 : Nissan Leaf price announced in Japan

Apr 1, 2010 : Nissan Leaf price announced in US, starts taking pre-orders in Japan

Apr 20, 2010 : Nissan Leaf pre-ordering starts in US for registrants

May 15, 2010 : Nissan Leaf pre-ordering starts in US for everyone

Aug 31, 2010 : Nissan Leaf ordering starts in US for people with August ordering dates

Dec-11, 2010 : First Nissan Leaf delivered in the US

Jan-20, 2014 : 100,000th Leaf sold globally
 
I was checking out what Nissan was saying in the past - to see how plans have changed over the last couple of years.

The earliest reference I find is 3-10-2008.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20080310/FREE/833121356

Nissan is moving full speed ahead with plans to introduce a pure electric car in 2010 for fleet customers in Japan and the United States.
...

"The first production vehicles will be for regional areas like California," said Masahiko Tabe, Nissan's manager of advanced vehicle engineering. "We will later expand the EV all over the world."
...

The production vehicle will have a daily range of 100 miles, with an estimated top speed of 75 mph. A complete recharge will take about eight hours.

The lithium ion battery pack will have 24 cells, each with four batteries.

The next one is in July-2008, when Nissan moved its US HQ from California to Nashville,TN.

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/08q3/nissan_electric_vehicle_due_in_2010-car_news

Nissan will put a pure EV on the road in the U.S. and Japan in 2010 in small volumes. In the case of the U.S., the single model will initially be sold only in California. By 2012, he says Nissan EVs will be volume vehicles—multiple models sold in large numbers throughout North America and the rest of the world.

So, looks like the change is in terms of rollout is more areas - and to individuals instead of just fleets.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aJEVrzt2t.8o

Even as Nissan shuttered factories in 1999, it continued battery work. In 2006, Ghosn overruled Nissan’s researchers and approved high-volume EV manufacturing.

“The engineers will always tell you, ‘Wait a little more,’ and if you keep playing this game, you never launch any product,” he says.

By the time Ghosn attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2007, he was a full-blown EV booster.

He met Shimon Peres, the Israeli vice prime minister who’d become an EV advocate because of his country’s limited oil. Peres brought Shai Agassi, the Israeli-born founder of Better Place, a Palo Alto, California, company that builds and operates networks of recharging stations, to a meeting at Peres’s hotel.

‘I’ve Got Your Car’

As the two pitched EVs, Ghosn said he didn’t need to hear it.

“I’ve got your car,” Ghosn said, Agassi recalls. “Let’s do it.” Peres, who is now Israel’s president, declined to comment for this story.
 
For a history of Nissan's EV activities prior to 2000, check this site:

http://www.modernracer.com/news/the-history-of-nissan-ev-development/1633/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nissan was involved with development of EVs powered by lead-acid batteries in 1947, during the formative stages of the company.
 
Certainly, the state of California plays a big part in any EV decision making:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/brochure/history.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
linkim said:
For a history of Nissan's EV activities prior to 2000, check this site:

http://www.modernracer.com/news/the-history-of-nissan-ev-development/1633/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nissan was involved with development of EVs powered by lead-acid batteries in 1947, during the formative stages of the company.


It was the TAMA. I got to touch it in the basement of their World HQ in Yokohama. it was due to trade restrictions after the war making gasoline too expensive. an electric car was the most viable option for transportation at the time.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
It was the TAMA. I got to touch it in the basement of their World HQ in Yokohama. it was due to trade restrictions after the war making gasoline too expensive. an electric car was the most viable option for transportation at the time.
I saw the TAMA move in a short demonstration drive in Dec. 2012 at a LEAF gathering in Oppama Japan. I don't know how many of these EVs exist, but they were able to keep one in operation.
 
linkim said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
It was the TAMA. I got to touch it in the basement of their World HQ in Yokohama. it was due to trade restrictions after the war making gasoline too expensive. an electric car was the most viable option for transportation at the time.
I saw the TAMA move in a short demonstration drive in Dec. 2012 at a LEAF gathering in Oppama Japan. I don't know how many of these EVs exist, but they were able to keep one in operation.

that is the best part of a vehicle that relies on very little moving parts that need fluid lubrication. they simply charge the batteries and turn it on!
 
(thread resurrection)
linkim said:
For a history of Nissan's EV activities prior to 2000, check this site:

http://www.modernracer.com/news/the-history-of-nissan-ev-development/1633/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nissan was involved with development of EVs powered by lead-acid batteries in 1947, during the formative stages of the company.
An email from R&T pointed me to https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/g42636075/nissan-heritage-collection-visit-2023/.

At https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/g42636075/nissan-heritage-collection-visit-2023/?slide=49, they had this:
I wish I got a full picture of this car, but oh well. Shown is the grille of a Nissan President Electric car. It's a one-off, open top four-door limo lent out by Nissan for use in special events, like transporting sporting champions or leading marathons. Top speed is electronically limited to 25 mph, and total range is just 62 miles.
https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/HERITAGE/President_Electric_Car.html is the entry, It's a 1991 car:
This open car used to be lent out by Nissan for use in special events, such as transporting sumo champions in victory parades, or as the leading car in a marathon. Because of the special situations in which it was to be used, it was designed as an electric car to lighten the burden on the environment. Its top speed is 40km/h and maximum driving distance on one full charge is 100km. Its acceleration is impressive, doing 0-30km/h in 3 seconds, and 0-40km/h in 9.5 seconds.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/g42636075/nissan-heritage-collection-visit-2023/?slide=71 has the Cube test vehicle. https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/HERITAGE/425_cube_ev_test_car.html is its entry.
 
mwalsh said:
I think this needs updating to include Ghosn escaping Japan in a musical instrument case (2020). :lol:
LOL! On that note, I did mention a Netflix documentary on him and his escape at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=626788#p626788.
 
cwerdna said:
mwalsh said:
I think this needs updating to include Ghosn escaping Japan in a musical instrument case (2020). :lol:
LOL! On that note, I did mention a Netflix documentary on him and his escape at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=626788#p626788.

Great show! Really brings to light how differently CEO's are treated in other countries. The reality is Ghosn could have done 3 times worse as a US CEO and gotten away with it completely AND with a multimillion dollar "goodbye" present.
 
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