Daily Archives: February 22, 2013
Nissan Takes On the Future
Fuel cell development is generating a lot of buzz in the automobile market. This technology involves generation of electricity by hydrogen and oxygen, with water as the only emission. Fuel cell technology could be a major breakthrough in the field of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Nissan has collaborated with automobile giants like Ford and Daimler for the development of fuel cell technology. The three bigwigs of the automobile world have joined hands to come up with a technology that is both affordable and reliable by 2017.
All the three companies with put in equal amounts of money; however the exact amount has not been disclosed. Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn hinted during a press conference that the investment by each company will be around $735.8 million. He only mentioned that the automakers will hire engineers from all over the world to work on the development of this technology.
The news of this collaboration comes shortly after Nissan’s announcement of a restructure in its policies and technology. The project is titled Nissan Revival and this union seems to be a big step in the company’s new policy.
Daimler’s executive, Thomas Weber, revealed during a press conference in Nabern, Germany that the carmakers are hoping to develop over 100,000 vehicles powered by fuel cell technology. Weber said, “This technology has the biggest potential for emission- free driving” compared with other alternative powertrain. This cooperation gives us the opportunity to bind together the know-how of three experienced partners” to enable commercial production of cars running on the powering system”.
The fuel cell technology would be step ahead of the hybrid technologies that are used by Nissan and Daimler. Nissan’s Leaf and Daimler’s Smart are the EVs that are currently the most eco-friendly vehicles in the market. But now it seems like they are taking it a step further and removing pollution completely from the environment.
In today’s automobile market, tie-ups are becoming extremely popular. This reduces development costs for each company and speeds up the development process considerably. This reduces investment and increases sales to a large extent. Thus, it is a win-win scenario for everyone.
Ford Motors is based in the US, Daimler takes up in Germany and Nissan has its base in Japan. Thus, this new collaboration unifies most of the world. Development work will take place in all these locations, thus making this a global tie-up with an international impact.
Mitsuhiko Yamashita, a Nissan executive, stated “Fuel cell electric vehicles are the obvious next step to complement today’s battery electric vehicles as our industry embraces more sustainable transportation.”
Daimler executive, Thomas Weber, said “We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero-emission mobility in the future.”
Ford executive, Raj Nair, said, “Working together will significantly help speed this technology to market at a more affordable cost to our customers. We will all benefit from this relationship as the resulting solution will be better than any one company working alone.”
All three executives are geared up for the collaboration, only 2017 will tell what results it yields.
Nissan On Sale: Leaf Prices Drop by $6,400
There has been a lot of speculation about the future of Nissan Leaf. Sales did not look good in 2012 and this did not bode well for the future of EVs in America.
However, it looks like Nissan has taken a brazen step in order to boost sales and increase Leaf popularity. During the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Nissan executives announced a $6,400 price drop for its 2013 base vehicle.
Nissan Leaf, often criticised for its ostentatiously high price has humbled down and now costs merely $28,800. If you exclude tax rebates in some states and $7,500 cut in federal taxes, you can get your hands on Nissan Leaf for $18,800 only.
The 2013 Nissan Leaf will be available in three trim levels- Leaf S will cost you $28,800, Leaf SV is available for $31,280 and the highest model Leaf SL comes with a price tag of $34,840. The most exciting thing about this price cut is that the price of the most expensive 2013 Leaf is lesser than the cheapest 2012 Leaf. It is clear that Nissan has done all it could in the price department to make Leaf more appealing to prospective buyers.
Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn, said during the interview at the North American International Auto Show, “the new prices make the Leaf the least expensive five-seater electric for sale in the US”. The Global Vice President of Leaf sale, Billy Hayes, stated that “From the very outset, Nissan has continuously advanced and refined the affordable zero emissions vehicle ownership experience. Now customers won’t have to pay a premium for owning a green car that’s really fun to drive, and that’s exciting.”
This price slash is essentially due to the geographical shift in Leaf productions. The 2013 models will not be manufactured at the Japanese Nissan plant. Leaf production has begun in Smyrna, Tennessee. The United Stated Department of Energy granted a rebate of $1.4 billion to Nissan, allowing them to produce 150,000 Leaf models and 200,000 batteries at its Smyrna plant. So, as both the car and its batteries will be produced in the US, Nissan will save a lot in production cost. This explains the huge dip in Leaf prices.
Another reason for the Leaf’s desirable and inexpensive price tag is its market performance in 2012. Nissan had estimated a sale of over 200,000 Leafs but it could only sell 9,819 in 2012. This number was nowhere close their goal and only 1.5% higher than the number of cars sold in 2011. Nissan was in desperate need of a miracle, and it looks like this new price tag might do the trick.
The new Leaf will come with 107 horsepower, 187lb of torque and a 48-module lithium ion battery. Nissan executives reveal that due to its improved aerodynamics, the 2013 Leaf will have a longer driving range than its 2012 version. The numbers aren’t out yet but it all looks good on paper. Hopefully, this will give the Leaf the much needed popularity boost.