Carlos Ghosn is blunt about Nissan’s strategy when it comes to electric vehicles: they must be zero-emission, running only on electricity. That is where the CEO differs from other automakers, who are largely pursuing hybrids with gasoline or diesel engines as range extenders.

Nissan will put a pure EV on the road in the U.S. and Japan in 2010 in small volumes. In the case of the U.S., the single model will initially be sold only in California. By 2012, he says Nissan EVs will be volume vehicles—multiple models sold in large numbers throughout North America and the rest of the world.

In a roundtable discussion with media in Nashville, Tennessee, to mark the official opening of Nissan’s new North American headquarters, it sounds like the car is well on its way to development. It rides on its own, all-new, dedicated electric-car platform, meaning you won’t see gasoline and diesel versions, Ghosn says.

The design is modern—he shoots down suggestions EVs are boring or banal by definition—and it will be fun to drive, including on a track.

Not a Small City Car

According to Ghosn, it is not a small, city car. He would not be more specific on which segment it will play in, other than to say it will work as a family vehicle, which suggests mid-size or even larger.

Another area where Ghosn wants to be vigilant is in determining what consumers will accept in an electric car in terms of range and charging it. “If you put too much restraint on a consumer, you risk losing him,” he says, adding once Nissan has a better sense of what buyers want and will tolerate, the automaker will know better how to act.

To help in that research, Ghosn uses his visit to Nashville to announce that the Renault-Nissan Alliance and state of Tennessee are forming a partnership to promote zero-emission vehicles, including EVs, in Tennessee, with the help of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other partners. Ghosn and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed the agreement during a meeting Monday night in Nashville.

In May, Ghosn said Renault-Nissan intends to be the leader in zero-emission vehicles—it is among the goals of the 2012 Nissan five-year business plan.

Charge ’Er Up, Please

The Tennessee project will work to figure out such things as volumes of vehicles, what kind of charge they should have, and how many charging stations are needed, with the goal of having them on the road in Tennessee by 2011. Ghosn said the project does not need big volumes initially.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has similar initiatives in Israel, Denmark, and—as of two weeks ago—Portugal. Ghosn says each one is tailored to the region, noting the necessary range in many countries is far less than in North America where motorists travel longer distances.

Ghosn says that, while there is an immediate focus on EVs, Nissan continues to work on fuel-cell vehicles as a long-term solution. He describes the company’s reluctant foray into hybrids as a necessary move to hedge its bets in today’s competitive world. Nissan is also adding capacity to be in the battery business.

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