Nissan Moving Straight to EVs

News on the electric car industry is continuing on at a rapid pace. It definitely is shaping up to the be the "fuel of the future", at least in the mid-term. Automakers everywhere are accelerating plans to produce electrified vehicles, and Nissan is one of the latest to go straight to electric.

Unlike Toyota and more recently Honda, which are both very wedded to the hybrid powertrain system, Nissan will be skipping out on launching a low-cost hybrid to compete. They're bypassing all of that, moving straight to electric vehicle technology. Toyota is hesitant to go to pure electric vehicles due to it's heavy investment in the Hybrid Synergy Drive system. So expect that and variations of it to be Toyota's dominant technology in the future.

Nissan Senior Vice President Andy Palmer told Automotive News that EVs are a "more persuasive technology". He said that's where the company is directing it's efforts and that especially with small cars "it's clear we're going to make the EV happen".

That comes as really good news for electric-only fans out there. Nissan is working to collaborate with electric utilities and companies to develop a charging infrastructure. That news will work to the advantage of Nissan in getting the vehicles sold, as well as others like Tesla and GM with the Volt. Part of that investment includes an "electric corridor" connecting the Pheonix and Tuscon Metro Areas with charging stations.

The only hybrid Nissan currently has on sale is the Altima, with the hybrid technology licensed from Toyota. I'm sure Nissan would like to get around that restriction and be able to stand on it's own in the battle for alternative fuels dominance.

Nissan is prepping it's EV for a 2010 launch. Itwill be an all-new vehicle, dedicated electric vehicle, not a conversion of any existing Nissan model. The Cube body is just being used for the test vehicle, similar to GM with the Cruze/Volt situatuon. The electric model will be something special that informs people of it's uniqueness. According to Nissan "You need something that is different enough to let people know you are driving a special car."  The model will have an 100-mile range.

I'm glad that Nissan is investing in electric technology so heavily. GM, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Tesla. It's clear that with all these huge companies putting large backing behind electric technology and infrastructure, good things are happening. I wonder who will come out on top in all of this?