Nissan's (NSANY) CEO, Carlos Ghosn, has once again upped the stakes in the electric car arms race. He promises that NSANY's electric car, scheduled to be available in 2010, will be profitable from the outset and will have zero emissions, period:

I want a pure electric car. I don’t want a range extender. I don’t want another hybrid...It’s not going to be zero emissions in certain conditions. It’s going to be zero emissions....

Everything that we develop, we develop for profits...We make money on all our cars. We do not have loss leaders.

In a not so subtle slap at Toyota's (TM) Prius and GM's Chevy Volt (scheduled for release in 2010 as well), Ghosn referred to any car powered by alternative means but that still uses fossil fuels as “unsustainable”.

Nissan plans to be the first automaker to sell a mass-market, zero-emission vehicle in the US.

See Also:

Nissan (NSANY) CEO: Weak US and Steel Price Hikes Killing Car Sales (NSANY)

Hybrid Car Sales Zooming; As Usual, Ford, GM, etc. Left in Parking Lot (TM, HMC, NSANY, GM, F)

Nissan Forecasts Huge Profit Drop (But Electric Car By 2010) (NSANY, TM, HMC)