Tennessee Gov Electrified By Nissan All Electric EV

FRANKLIN, Tennessee April 22, 2009; Rose French writing for the AP reported that Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen test-drove a Nissan Motor Co. electric vehicle at the company's North American headquarters Wednesday, pledging the state's support in the automaker's effort to put the cars on the road soon.

Nissan, the third-largest Japanese automaker, plans to introduce plug-in electric vehicles in the U.S. in 2010 and mass market them globally two years later. The company has declined to say yet how many models it will initially produce.

The drawbacks of high costs and sites needed for recharging the vehicles, however, are hurdles keeping entirely electrical vehicles at the experimental stage so far.

Bredesen, along with the Tennessee Valley Authority utility and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy research lab, promised to help in the research and development of recharging stations in Tennessee.

Specifically, the governor urged building solar-powered charging stations in areas including Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville.

At least three stations would come online with the release of Nissan's electric vehicle, though the governor encouraged the building of more and exploring federal support to fund solar and electric vehicle-releated research. He said the state could initially put up to $15 million toward developing the charging stations.

Nissan North America has applied for assistance from the Department of Energy through a $25 billion loan program designed to help automakers retool plants to build more fuel-efficient vehicles. The company has declined to say how much money it is seeking.

Nissan in the U.S. has forged similar partnerships to bring electric vehicles to Oregon, San Diego and the Phoenix area. Globally, the company has announced partnerships to promote the vehicles in Israel, Denmark, Portugal and France, among other countries.

After zipping around in the electric vehicle at Nissan's headquarters in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Bredesen quipped, "I've never driven an all-electric car before that wasn't a golf cart.

"It has a very nice feel about it. It's a different experience, but in no way is inferior to driving a gasoline car. In fact, I think I really like the quietness of it and obviously you feel a lot better about what you're doing to the environment in a car like this than in any gasoline car."

The governor said the state needs to work with Nissan to try to get the infrastructure in place so people are not tied to their garages for recharging.

The electric vehicle is powered by Nissan's lithium-ion battery pack and zero-emission electric motor. While it does not represent the design of Nissan's electric vehicle to be sold in 2010, the prototype is an indicator of what's to come in zero-emission mobility.

The company says the vehicle can go 100 miles (160 kilometers) on a single charge. Home charging would require a 220 volt line, similar to what's used for a dryer or hot tub. Public charging stations would likely be located in parking lots, downtown streets, and neighborhoods.

Besides Nissan, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other automakers are planning electric vehicles in the near future. Governments in the U.S., Europe and Japan are offering or planning consumer incentives, such as tax breaks, for environmentally friendly vehicles.