Nissan and Kanagawa Prefecture Agree to Study Full-Scale EV Project in 2010

20 May 2008

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and the government of Kanagawa Prefecture have agreed to conduct a feasibility study of a full-scale electric vehicle project in Kanagawa starting in 2010. The joint-study will explore various opportunities including the establishment of a local electricity-charging network and offer appropriate incentives.

Under its GT 2012 mid-term business plan, Nissan has committed to introduce a pure electric vehicle in the US and Japan in 2010 and then to mass-market electric vehicles to consumers globally in 2012.

In April, Kanagawa Prefecture had announced the EV Initiative Kanagawa, an incentive scheme to include subsidies and tax exemptions to promote electric vehicles. By 2014, we hope to achieve 3,000 units of electric vehicles in Kanagawa. The scheme is supported by the industrial and academic sectors. The joint-study with Nissan will accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles among consumers. We intend to achieve a sustainable mobility solution with the “Kanagawa Model”, which can be replicated at the national and global levels.

—Shigefumi Matsuzawa, the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture