Nissan and Tennessee Form Zero-Emissions Vehicle Partnership

22 July 2008

Nissan and the State of Tennessee are forming a partnership to promote zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), including electric vehicles, in Middle Tennessee with participation from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other partners. This marks the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s fourth such ZEV initiative, and the first one in the US.

Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Renault, SA, made the announcement of the Tennessee agreement during the dedication of Nissan Americas, a newly completed building in Franklin serving as the coordination point for the company’s operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ghosn and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen signed the agreement during a meeting Monday night in Nashville. For his part, Bredesen has agreed to explore strategies in which the state might help support the deployment of infrastructure for electric vehicles, including charging stations in public places.  Under Bredesen’s leadership, the state and Nissan are joining with the TVA and other partners to embark on a series of conversations that initially will focus on the region’s heavily trafficked Interstate 24 and Interstate 65 corridors.

In addition to the TVA, potential partners include: Mayor Karl Dean and Metro Nashville-Davidson County; local utilities including Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, Murfreesboro Electric Department and Nashville Electric Service; major employers including Central Parking System, Gaylord Entertainment, Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University; and real-estate firms including Southern Land Company, a residential real estate developer, and CBL Properties and Crescent Resources, both commercial property management companies with interests in the Franklin area.

In May, Ghosn committed the Renault-Nissan Alliance to be a global leader in zero-emission vehicles (ZEV).  Nissan, through its GT 2012 five-year business plan, will introduce ZEVs in the United States in 2010 and two years later will mass market ZEVs globally.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has begun ZEV initiatives in Israel, Denmark and Portugal.

In Israel and Denmark, the Alliance will be working with Project Better Place, which will create an infrastructure of charging stations.  Vehicles for those two initiatives will be provided by Renault and lithium-ion batteries to power the vehicles will be provided Nissan, through its Automotive Energy Supply Company joint venture.