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Nissan EV Parts Plant to Supply Hybrid Components
Nissan Motor Co. says its electric-car parts factory in Smyrna, Tenn., will soon expand output to include batteries and powertrain components for hybrids.
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Nissan Motor Co. says its electric-car parts factory in Smyrna, Tenn., will soon expand output to include batteries and powertrain components for hybrids.
Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer tells Bloomberg News the move aims to better utilize the "damn expensive" plant, which opened last year.
The facility was made possible by a $1.4 billion loan from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The plant has capacity to produce batteries and other parts for 200,000 EVs per year. But annual demand in the U.S. for Nissan's Leaf electric sedan reached only 9,800 units last year, less than half the company's sales target.
Palmer says the Smyrna plant will begin supplying batteries and other powertrain components later this year for Nissan's NV2200 electric commercial van, the Infiniti LE electric sedan in 2014 and unspecified front-drive hybrid vehicles due over the same period.
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