Nissan is serious about taking the lead in next gen green vehicles. They have recently begun talk and negotiations with tech corp NEC, to mass produce and market LI-ON batteries.

This NEW partnership will allow Nissan to get closer to what it wants the most right now, which is to be the leader in the electric vehicles market. Nissan would like to make it to market first, over Honda and over irking eco minded competitor Toyota.

The Nissan-NEC venture, to be called Automotive Energy Supply Corp, is supplying the batteries Renault will use in the electric cars it’s building for Israel and Denmark. The governments of those two nations have rallied behind Silicon Valley startup Project Better Place and its plan to bring affordable EVs to the masses. Nissan is looking at a similar arrangement with the government of Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, which wants to develop an electric vehicle fleet and charging infrastructure. Getting a few thousand electric cars on the road before its rivals will give the joint venture a solid lead in the market.

This will certainly give Nissan a leg up in the electric vehicles sector. The Li-ION batteries will be mass produced, power up the next generation of plug-in hybrids and electric cars, PLUS they have been proven to out perform the current crop of Prius, nickel-metal hydride batteries. On average lasting more than 60,000 miles. In fact, Nissan and NEC are so confident in their new EV batteries, they plan to sell them to other manufacturers, as well. Production is ready to start at 13,000 batteries for next year, rising to 65,000 a year by end of 2011.

Toyota and Honda, no doubt, are not resting on their laurels. Let’s see how they compete.

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Filed Under: Autos, Eco Friendly, Green, Li Ion, electric cars, electric vehicles, ev, honda, nec, nissan, toyota, transportation

The once uber popular sports coupe, the Nissan 200 SX, is going green. Maybe! The concept is on the table, and studies are in the works to find out whether it is possible to make a powerful all electric sports coupe.

If there is one thing you can count on in the EV market is concept cars and all the green vehicle “maybes”. It is quite an undertaking to transform a fleet of vehicles and take it from one source of power (gas) to a completely different one, such as electricity, water or a hybrid of sorts. Not too mention making something powerful and turbo charged, all the while keeping it fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly.

The Nissan 200 SX, known to many as the Silvia, is in the works to come back and be reincarnated as either a hybrid or as an EV, electric vehicle.

VP of Global Marketing for Nissan, Junichi Endo, states there is a 50/50 chance of an EV version of the Nissan 200 SX making it to market. Endo goes on to state that a hybrid is much more likely to make it to market, than an electric version of a (sports coupe).

Toyota also has plans to create eco friendly performance roadsters, but nothing is set yet for production. And Honda has set in motion plans for a revamped and earth friendly Honda CRX, which will be known as the Honda CR-Z.

So, sexy meets green! Maybe.

via - [Auto Blog Green]

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Filed Under: Eco Friendly, General, Green, electric cars, electric vehicles, ev, transportation

The Zap-X Electric Vehicle is being tuted as “the fun, compact, and affordable EV”. Due out in the year 2010, this high performance crossover electric car is to be engineered by Lotus.

Some of the features of the Zap X include:

• APX Light Weight Aluminum
• Architecture Design
• Electronic Braking System (EBS)
• Rack and Pinion Steering
• Solar Glass
• Lithium Batteries
  (Bio-degradable Non-Explosive)
• Power Windows
• Power Door Locks
• Power Steering
• GPS
• On Board Carputer with Full Entertainment System

The stylings of this EV reminds me of a cross between a Ford Mustang and a small SUV, not terribly exciting a design. The Zap-X ride comes in at a top speed of 155 MPH, horsepower at 644, and a ridiculous charge time of 10 minutes.

The Zap-X EV is not yet available anywhere and some of its marketed features (such as charge time) will need to be seriously tweaked, before they become reality in many or most homes.

What Zap-X lacks in design, atleast they make up for in fuel efficiency and technology.

Price Tag: $60,000

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Filed Under: Autos, Eco Friendly, Fuel Efficient, Green, electric cars, electric vehicles, ev, transportation, zap x