Nissan promotes zero emissions

By Chris Tighe
Published: March 20 2009 00:38

The probability of Nissan’s Sunderland plant becoming a base for electric vehicle production will be strengthened on Friday with the signing of a partnership agreement to promote zero-emission mobility.
Nissan and regional development agency One NorthEast will sign a memorandum of understanding, in the presence of business secretary Lord Mandelson, to undertake a four-month development programme to promote EV use, create EV infrastructure and explore the potential for EV manufacturing in the north east, and the UK.

While the agreement does not itself commit the government to providing funding to EV infrastructure development at Nissan’s Sunderland site, Lord Mandelson’s presence lends support to north east England’s aspirations to become a focus for “green” vehicle production and EV infrastructure. His support for the agreement will also carry weight within Nissan, which will launch its first zero emission EVs in Japan and the US next year, before mass marketing them globally from 2012.
Lord Mandelson will also on Friday visit Smiths Electric Vehicles, at nearby Washington, where he will sit in the driving seat of the Smith Ampere, the world’s first high performance electric light van.
As well as attracting Liberty Electric Cars, which is to produce the world’s first plug in electric four by fours in Northumberland, the north east is planning to create an electric car charging point infrastructure.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009