romises about electric vehicles are a dime a dozen, and so far no one - not even Tesla - has managed to deliver a real daily-driving production car in volume. That's not stopping Nissan's product planning director Mark Perry from confirming a 2010 U.S. launch for a five-seat electric car.
Not even the terrible economy has put a damper on the plans - in part because Nissan is pitching the EV as a way to save cash. Between maintenance costs that Perry told the Chattanooga Free Times Press will be $1,350 lower annually and a $7,500 tax credit that the car will be eligible for, the $28,000-$30,000 EV could be a way to stretch budgets.
To get the cars on the road Nissan is working with its several planned launch locations to help build a charging network. That network is there to help combat what Perry calls "range anxiety", though with the 100mi (160km) range expected of the car, city drivers shouldn't be too worried about not making it home on a charge.
Nissan hasn't released any details on the car, but piecing together claims made over the last several years, we expect the car to feature a leased battery pack to help keep initial prices down and make replacement easier. Fragments of the plan were revealed last November when launch markets in Sonoma, CA and Portland, WA revealed their involvement. Chattanooga, TN is also one of the launch locations since it's the company's U.S. HQ.
The Mixim electric concept, pictured, was shown at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, and could preview the general design direction of the EV. Styling cues that at the time looked somewhat out of place in Nissan's line now echo the 370Z and GT-R as well as the Denki Cube concept EV, though the tiny size of the Mixim is likely a bit smaller than the production EV's footprint. The Denki Cube itself isn't expected to be the basis for the production vehicle, in part since the conventional gasoline-powered Cube has now been introduced to the U.S. market.
The NuVu concept is a mobile testbed for the EV's underlying technology, however. For more details on that car, read our original story here.
Not even the terrible economy has put a damper on the plans - in part because Nissan is pitching the EV as a way to save cash. Between maintenance costs that Perry told the Chattanooga Free Times Press will be $1,350 lower annually and a $7,500 tax credit that the car will be eligible for, the $28,000-$30,000 EV could be a way to stretch budgets.
To get the cars on the road Nissan is working with its several planned launch locations to help build a charging network. That network is there to help combat what Perry calls "range anxiety", though with the 100mi (160km) range expected of the car, city drivers shouldn't be too worried about not making it home on a charge.
Nissan hasn't released any details on the car, but piecing together claims made over the last several years, we expect the car to feature a leased battery pack to help keep initial prices down and make replacement easier. Fragments of the plan were revealed last November when launch markets in Sonoma, CA and Portland, WA revealed their involvement. Chattanooga, TN is also one of the launch locations since it's the company's U.S. HQ.
The Mixim electric concept, pictured, was shown at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, and could preview the general design direction of the EV. Styling cues that at the time looked somewhat out of place in Nissan's line now echo the 370Z and GT-R as well as the Denki Cube concept EV, though the tiny size of the Mixim is likely a bit smaller than the production EV's footprint. The Denki Cube itself isn't expected to be the basis for the production vehicle, in part since the conventional gasoline-powered Cube has now been introduced to the U.S. market.
The NuVu concept is a mobile testbed for the EV's underlying technology, however. For more details on that car, read our original story here.
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