Nissan Enters into EV Partnership with City of Houston

6 February 2010

Nissan is entering into an agreement with the City of Houston to advance zero-emission mobility in the city by promoting the development of an electric-vehicle charging network and policies to support widespread adoptions of electric cars.

The announcement, made at the Houston stop of the Nissan LEAF Zero Emissions Tour, helps pave the way for the 2010 introduction of Nissan LEAF, the industry’s first all-electric, zero-emission car designed for the mass market. Nissan already has a similar working agreement with Reliant Energy, of Houston, one of the largest competitive electricity providers in Texas. The announcement paves the way for public-private collaboration to foster electric-vehicle growth and development.

As part of the agreement, Nissan and the City of Houston, along with Reliant Energy, will develop plans to promote a charging infrastructure for electric cars that encourages home and workplace charging, as well as a public-charging infrastructure. The partners will work to coordinate the establishment of policies and help streamline charging infrastructure deployment. Nissan also has agreed to make available a supply of electric vehicles to the City of Houston and in and around the metropolitan area.

Houston is one of 14 cities that have joined the Clinton Climate Initiative C40 in a commitment to make their cities more electric vehicle-friendly. To that end, the city intends to add 25 electric vehicles this year, bringing to 40 the total number of plug-in cars in the city’s fleet.

Reliant Energy is working to make the broad adoption of electric vehicles simple by developing an ecosystem of charging infrastructure and services that makes fueling electric vehicles more convenient and affordable than the gasoline alternative.

Nissan has formed more than a dozen partnerships in the United States, in areas including State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon, Sonoma County, San Diego and San Francisco in California, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., Washington D.C., Seattle, with the City of Orlando and the Orlando Utilities Commission, with Progress Energy in Raleigh, N.C., and with Houston-based Reliant Energy. Nissan also is working with AeroVironment for the supply and installation of home charging stations, creating a one-stop shop for the Nissan LEAF and its charging equipment.