The buzz around Nissan in the past few months has developed from early photos and information about the LEAF EV. American drivers interested in the LEAF EV should take note of the automaker’s rollout plan released last week. Customers in all 50 states will find LEAF EVs in their Nissan showrooms starting in January 2012. Nissan also unveiled demographics findings from its initial round of reservations. These observations create a profile of the typical LEAF EV reservation holder.

The first round of LEAF EV deliveries will be made in December 2010 to customers in EV Project states. The EV Project is a partnership between Nissan and ECOtality funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. These states include California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. The next rollout is set for January 2011 with LEAF EV deliveries to dealerships in Texas and Hawaii. Nissan plans a third phase in April 2011 to deliver units to advanced buyers in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama. The final stage of the LEAF EV rollout should take place starting September 2011 in the rest of the United States.

Nissan’s reservation system for the LEAF EV allowed the automaker to peak into the lives of nearly 17,000 consumers. The reservation form asked for background information about why a consumer wanted the LEAF EV. This question resulted in a close split between an interest in energy independence (35%), concern over the environment (34%) and interest in saving money (20%). Nissan found that 67% of advanced buyers would be able to buy their LEAF EVs within a year of the reservation. Given the time that will elapse between reservation and delivery, this figure demonstrates the financial wherewithal of the typical LEAF EV driver.

This reservation information also revealed that 75% of LEAF EV customers own a single family home. Nissan discovered that 68% of reservation holders owned attached garages while 18% had access to detached car ports. These statistics show that most drivers interested in the LEAF EV could devote space to home charging units. The automaker also announced that 75% of its LEAF EV customers chose the more costly SL trim with their reservations. This trim level features advanced features like a rearview camera, auto headlights and a spoiler with solar paneling.

Better Place is poised to unveil its system of battery switch stations
in Israel and Denmark by 2011. These stations allow drivers of Better
Place-outfitted vehicles to swap out batteries as charges run low. As
the first phase of this roll-out occurs, the California-based company
is also looking to new markets like Tokyo. Better Place worked with
A123 Systems and taxi company Nihon Kotsu to develop a battery-electric
taxi for upcoming tests. Last week, this battery-powered vehicle hit
the streets of Tokyo for a 90-day test run of Better Place’s battery
switch system.

This short-term test run was made possible by
the contribution of lightweight batteries by A123 Systems that can be
swapped out at battery switch systems. Better Place is using a Nissan
SUV body with a converted drive system and body design to increase
driving range. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is
using public funds to install the battery switch station and help Nihon
Kotsu during the test. The taxi operator will use three Better Place
vehicles during the 90-day period to test out the practicalities of the
battery switch process.

At the announcement of this testing
process, Better Place and Nihon Kotsu pointed out the symmetry of their
two products. Better Place vehicles will be best used in compact urban
environments where high densities of battery stations will allow for
easier switches. The company notes that its charging stations can
recharge a lithium-ion battery to 80% capacity in five minutes, thus
allowing future users to pick up new batteries throughout the day.
While Better Place recognizes the initial costs of this system, they
also point out that higher volumes of participation will lead to lower
costs as well as lower emissions.

Nihon Kotsu cited its
60,000-vehicle fleet as a compelling reason to move away from gasoline
and toward electrical power. Taxi drivers in a Better Place
infrastructure would be able to pull into battery switch stations,
allow the station to replace their batteries and proceed to their next
stops. Nihon Kotsu’s three Better Place prototypes will be stationed at
the Roppongi hills Complex, which is typical of the bustling taxi
stations throughout Tokyo. If Better Place’s Tokyo experiment works
well, we can anticipate one of the world’s largest cities moving toward
battery-powered taxis in the near future.

Northern California has turned into a critical hub in America’s developing electric vehicle market. As San Francisco has pushed for greener transportation, we have seen neighboring cities like San Jose and Pleasant Hill join the club. These communities have installed Coulomb ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations to accommodate EVs used by city workers and residents. The latest addition to Northern California’s EV network is the city of Martinez, California.

Martinez has received funding from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority for three 120V EV charging stations. This funding was made possible by a half-cent sales tax applied to residents of Contra Costa County. Martinez officials have worked with TRANSPAC, a group of elected officials and administrators in the county, to implement EV charging stations at strategic locations. Residents of Martinez will find the Coulomb charging stations located on Main Street, at City Hall and within a block of the Amtrak station. In addition to the city’s fleet of four EVs, residents of Martinez will be able to charge their EVs within minutes of downtown attractions.

As always, TRANSPAC and the city of Martinez needed to find a way to ensure that consumers paid for EV charging. The Coulomb ChargePoint network allows multiple payment methods at the point of purchase. Visitors to Martinez can call the phone number located on an EV charging station to receive an access code for one-time charging. Residents can open ChargePoint Network plans to pay monthly bills instead of using credit cards for each purchase. These stations could evolve to handle credit and debit card purchases at a remote payment station as volume increases.

TRANSPAC members have embraced Coulomb charging stations in the past year in an effort to encourage EV use. We should expect Martinez neighbors like Concord and Clayton to make their first purchases in upcoming months as more funds become available. These infrastructure developments need to be expedited in the next five years to account for plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles set to hit the market. Automakers may need to speed up development of EVs like the Nissan LEAF but there needs to be a similar effort by municipalities to develop public charging systems. We need to see regional planning agencies similar to TRANSPAC allocate funds for EV charging stations throughout the United States. Without these efforts, the Nissan LEAF and its EV brethren may remain in the margins of the automobile industry.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is in the middle of a $5.4 billion investment in electric vehicles to be distributed throughout North America and Europe. This investment has already helped Nissan create a number of partnerships with American and European cities for smart charging infrastructure. Renault announced that its first contributions to the electric vehicle market are available for pre-order at the website linked here. The Fluence Z.E. and the Kangoo Express Z.E. are intended for high-end consumers and business fleets respectively.

The Fluence Z.E. is a compact EV that will be available in Europe and Israel in the first quarter of 2011. This zero-emissions vehicle features a 70kW electric motor and a 22kWh lithium-ion battery that facilitate a per-charge range of 99 miles. The Fluence Z.E. can achieve a top speed of 84 miles per hour, which is more than sufficient for city driving. Renault adjusted the anti-lock brake system and added low-resistance tires to increase range compared to the traditional Fluence. Renault has also designed the Fluence Z.E. to be recharged using a household outlet, a fast-charge unit or a QuickDrop battery exchange station made by Better Place.

Renault’s Kangoo Express Z.E. van will be available to commercial customers starting in the second quarter of 2011. This all-electric vehicle contains a 44kW electric motor and a 22kWh lithium-ion battery pack allowing a maximum range of 99 miles. The Kangoo Express Z.E. is rechargeable to full capacity within eight hours, making it ideal for corporate fleet vehicles left overnight in depots and garages. Renault has maintained the same cargo capacity as the traditional Kangoo Express to please existing customers.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is mustering help throughout the world to make the Fluence and Kangoo Express Z.E.s commercially viable. The Fluence Z.E. is going to roll off the production line at Renault’s factory in Bursa, Turkey by the beginning of 2011. Renault says that the Kangoo Express Z.E. will be produced at a manufacturing plant in northern France. Both automakers say that they are investing heavily in five new plants from Smyrna, Tennessee to Zama, Japan to handle battery production. In order to support the alliance’s EV rollout goals, these plants will be asked to produce a total of 475,000 units per year. In the meantime, the pre-ordering for the Fluence Z.E. and the Kangoo Express Z.E. should provide a glimpse into the alliance’s early efforts in EV mobilization.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has spent the past decade developing partnerships with cities worldwide on clean vehicle infrastructure. The 2010 release of the Nissan LEAF EV gives this alliance a new asset to sell to cities and public utilities interested in such partnerships. Renault-Nissan added yet another city to its growing list of partners last week. The city of Orlando and the Orlando Utilities Commission will work with Renault-Nissan on EV charging stations along with EV-friendly policies to ease restrictions to adoption of the Nissan LEAF.

The city of Orlando will work with Renault-Nissan and the Orlando Utilities Commission to create policies friendly to EV adoption. Given the nature of Renault-Nissan’s past partnerships, it seems likely that Orlando will offer free parking near EV charge points. The city of Orlando may also use special lanes within the city limits and local tax reductions to encourage early EV adoption.

The Orlando Utilities Commission has already taken steps toward wider adoption of EVs like the Nissan LEAF. The utility board recently installed two EV charging stations in downtown Orlando to accommodate a small number of EVs. Renault-Nissan also received a commitment for at least 10 Nissan LEAF purchases from the utility, which will use these EVs for service calls and demonstrations.

For its part, Renault-Nissan will work with the city and the utility commission on laying the groundwork for EV use. The Nissan LEAF EV will be offered to both bodies for fleet purchases and leases as soon as the first units roll off the production floor. Renault-Nissan will work closely with utility officials on public charge points that are accessible to the public. The ultimate goal for Renault-Nissan is to ensure simple charging at home, work and in public.

Renault-Nissan’s partnership with Orlando is a perfect opportunity to test out EVs from the alliance. Orlando is a heavily traveled city thanks to its proximity to Disney World and other tourist destinations. Traffic on nearby highways and side roads is heavy enough to give the Nissan LEAF EV a test of its durability. The city is also compact enough that the development of public charge points and other EV infrastructure will be manageable financially. We will see if Orlando and the Orlando Utilities Commission can adequately meet the needs of EV users as the Nissan LEAF hits the streets in 2010.

Nissan Motors is laying the groundwork for a 2011 rollout of its LEAF EV in the United Kingdom. This groundwork includes a recent agreement with One North East, a regional development agency, to establish EV education programs and infrastructure over the next two years. Nissan promises to place priorities on orders of LEAF EVs from customers in northeast England beginning in spring 2011. One North East, in turn, is investing money in EV demos, infrastructure development and other elements needed to make LEAF EV ownership easier.

Representatives of One North East noted that 619 EV charge points will be installed throughout northeast England by January 1, 2011. In addition to 3kW and 7kW charge points, One North East is planning to install a dozen 50kW fast chargers. These charging stations will provide free electricity to EV owners until March 31, 2002 when itemized billing of power use at charge points is expected to begin. One North East and its public and private partners will need to resolve the issue of who bears the brunt of public EV charging costs as LEAF EVs hit area streets.

The LEAF EV rollout is part of One North East’s plan for a Low Carbon Economic Area for Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles. The agency intends to create a business park with EV-friendly parking and an EV test track to encourage low carbon vehicle ownership and development. One North East is also investing $3.9 million in a National Centre for Sustainable Manufacturing and $3.8 million in an Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Development Centre. Instead of focusing solely on the LEAF EV rollout, One North East is looking to the next generation of EVs with this program.

Perhaps the most crucial elements of the One North East/Nissan collaboration are incentives to ensure early adoption. Both sides will work with local and regional authorities to develop traffic lanes devoted to hybrid and EV drivers. One North East is working with local businesses to open 200 free public spots for EV charging by November 2010. The agency will work with Nissan to lobby local governments to require EV charging stations in all new buildings. These incentives allow consumers to surmount obstacles to EV ownership while ensuring a slow but steady development of charging infrastructure in northeast England.

The Nissan LEAF Zero Emission Tour began in Los Angeles on November 13th, 2009. This goodwill tour of Nissan’s first all-electric vehicle will span 22 cities in 11 states along with the District of Columbia and Vancouver. This tour is not only educating the public on the LEAF EV but encouraging involvement from communities nationwide. The Nissan LEAF Zero Emissions Student Competition, for example, will grant a $500 scholarship to a student who describes a zero-emissions future featuring the LEAF. Nissan North America is working behind the scenes of this tour to make its December 2010 rollout of the LEAF EV easier in San Francisco, Seattle and beyond.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and other regional leaders appeared with Nissan representatives last Monday. This public appearance with a LEAF EV showed the commitment of Bay Area cities to a comprehensive EV infrastructure. Newsom will work with Nissan representatives and members of the Bay Area EV Corridor to make the LEAF EV practical in the region. The Bay Area EV Corridor communities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland will use the LEAF EV as the first test vehicle of its EV infrastructure.

Nissan is also working with the city of Seattle to simplify next year’s LEAF EV rollout. The automaker and the city of Seattle are working with Phoenix-based eTec to install public chargers in mall parking lots and stand-alone EV stations throughout the metro area. eTec benefits from a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy to facilitate EV infrastructure development. In addition to Seattle EV stations, eTec will use its DOE grant to create similar stations in Arizona, California, Oregon and Tennessee. Nissan and Seattle mayor Greg Nickels appeared with a LEAF EV touring vehicle last Wednesday to celebrate this public-private partnership.

Nissan’s regional partnerships and national EV tour are bringing to light advancements in green automotive technology. Consumers in the Pacific Northwest and California in particular are realizing that other automakers are delaying EV development in favor of hybrid models requiring less overhead. Nissan is attempting to corner the market on production EVs within the next two years while Toyota, Honda and others are still working on prototypes. The Nissan LEAF EV will run between $25,000 and $35,000 USD from the start, requiring a small premium from eco-conscious drivers. Nissan is solving the last lingering problem for the LEAF EV rollout with its local partnerships, creating an EV infrastructure that will make public charging commonplace instead of novel.

Nissan announced last week that its presentation at the 2010
Geneva Motor Show will include a compact car with the V-Platform drive system.
This drive system is slated for implementation in two Nissan models over the
next three years in China, India and Thailand. The V-Platform by Nissan
features a three cylinder, 1.0-liter engine paired with a continuously variable
transmission (CVT). This compact car along with future V-Platform models will
reduce the automaker’s overall emissions level while increasing fuel mileage
dramatically.

The V-Platform was created by Nissan to remedy its lack of
compact car models, accommodate consumer needs and show potential uses for
its fuel-efficient drive system in future models. Nissan is focused on local production of
V-Platform vehicles along with increasing cost efficiencies to lower barriers to vehicle
adoptions among consumers in developing economies. Nissan models using the
V-Platform will be produced in China, India and Thailand with future production facilities possible in North America. The automaker indicates that up to 90% of
parts used in V-Platform vehicles will be built or purchased within local
markets. Nissan’s Global Production Engineering Center worked with designers
and plant managers in these three countries to ensure that the V-Platform is
built the same from market to market.

In addition to locally sourced production, Nissan’s
V-Platform features more efficient vehicle designs than the competition. Nissan
states that the V-Platform compact car uses 18% fewer parts than competing
models, which translates into lower overhead costs. The compact car presented
in Geneva next March will share 82% of its parts with future V-Platform models.
The hope for Nissan is that the dual forces of fewer parts and parts sharing
between models will lead to lower costs for consumers.

Nissan plans to produce 200,000 to 300,000 units per year
after initial implementation in Thailand in spring 2010. The automaker
anticipates production of V-Platform models in excess of one million units per year by
the time of full implementation. The compact car slated for the 2010 Geneva
Motor Show allows Nissan to succeed in growing regional markets while looking to the
future. Since compact cars represent 20% of new auto sales worldwide, Nissan is
looking to capitalize on its fuel-efficient V-Platform in the present. The
V-Platform’s focus on fewer parts, lighter bodies and efficient engines will
evolve as Nissan develops hybrid and all-electric drive systems in the future.

]]> http://www.hybridmile.com/news/nissan-compact/feed/ 0 http://www.hybridmile.com/news/sacramento-coca-cola/ http://www.hybridmile.com/news/sacramento-coca-cola/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:00:57 +0000 njkaters http://www.hybridmile.com/news/sacramento-coca-cola/

Nissan began development on fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) 13 years ago with the intent of revolutionizing the passenger vehicle market. The automaker’s X-Trail FCV has been tested in California over the past few years with 300,000 miles of test driving including a unit approaching 100,000 miles. Nissan is taking the next step toward selling the X-Trail FCV in North America thanks to Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The company recently signed a one-year lease for an X-Trail FCV with an optional two-year extension, which is Nissan’s first lease for this fuel cell model.

Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co. will tie the X-Trail FCV to the Coke Zero brand by connecting zero emissions with the zero-calorie drink. The X-Trail FCV will be used for select sales calls throughout the Sacramento area. The majority of mileage on this leased X-Trail FCV will be for promotional events and public demonstrations. Performance in day-to-day operation and public response at promotional events should dictate whether other companies will follow Sacramento Coca-Cola’s lead in leasing the X-Trail FCV.

The X-Trail FCV uses a frame unfamiliar to Americans as the traditional gas model is sold in Mexico, Japan and the European Union. The heart of the X-Trail FCV is a hydrogen fuel cell stack capable of producing 90 kW at full power. Nissan combined this compact fuel cell stack with a lithium-ion battery to extend range for long-term commutes. The X-Trail FCV is capable of traveling up to 300 miles before refueling is required. The automaker satisfies the traditional driver with a maximum speed of 95 miles per hour and comfortable seating.

This lease is a sign that Nissan is penetrating deeper into the alternative fuel vehicles market in North America. The automaker recently opened a new laboratory in Farmington Hills, Michigan to refine its fuel cell technology. The Farmington Hills research team is focused specifically on a next-generation fuel cell stack with a 25% smaller frame capable of producing 130 kW. The X-Trail FCV and other alt-fuel vehicles form the core component of the Nissan Green Program 2010. Nissan intends to become what it refers to as a “sincere eco-innovator” by reducing vehicle emissions through fuel cell, plug-ins, hybrids and vehicle conversions. In order to accomplish emissions savings, however, Nissan needs to have a successful relationship with Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co. If the leased X-Trail FCV fails to perform to the company’s standards, Nissan could experience a setback in the critical California market due to poor word of mouth.

Nissan has been featured prominently in recent HybridMile posts due to the proposed 2010 rollout of the Leaf EV and other green vehicle concepts. The automaker is looking beyond the competition for long-term navigation and drive technologies that may seem like science fiction at present. Industry experts saw a glimpse of this technology with the BR23C micro-car in 2008, which featured a drive system based on the behavior of bees. Nissan brought its EPORO robot cars to CEATEC Japan 2009 in Tokyo to demonstrate the virtues of Biomimetic Car technology.

The six EPORO robot cars featured at CEATEC Japan 2009 use bee and fish behavior as templates for safer travel. Nissan designers followed three rules of fish behavior when creating the EPORO. The EPORO robot car works with its fellow cars to change direction without crashing into other cars. Nissan also observed the ability of bees and fish to maintain uniform distances from each other at any speed. The final rule observed by the Nissan EPORO cars was the ability to get closer to a vehicle or object without collisions or strained performance.

Nissan’s EPORO technology is touted as carbon dioxide free as well as accident free based on multiple generations of technology. Each robot car is equipped with an Ultra Wide Band system to simulate sight and a range finder to determine proximity to other objects. Nissan plans to incorporate these elements into future vehicle models as part of its Safety Shield system, which will reduce accidents and increase transportation efficiency. Even as the EPORO robot cars showed Nissan’s focus on safety, green vehicle lovers should recognize the benefits of the Safety Shield concept.

Future vehicles incorporating EPORO technology would decrease traffic jams and time spent idling on busy streets. These changes would increase fuel efficiency by using gas, electricity and other fuel types for travel instead of sitting still. The EPORO technology could reduce accidents drastically, which would not only save lives but keep vehicles on streets instead of the junkyard. Nissan is likely to employ lighter materials for paneling to seating in future models, which would further increase fuel efficiency by decreasing vehicle weight. The EPORO robot cars may look like novelties today but these components will be critical to Nissan’s green vehicle future.