Nissan's Ghosn Betting Reputation and Corporate Fortunes On Electric Vehicles

Nissan's Ghosn Betting Reputation and Corporate Fortunes On Electric Vehicles

By John O'Dell November 12, 2009

CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance Tells All in Exclusive Piece For Edmunds Inside Line 

Nissan Leaf electric car will go on sale in select U.S. and Japanese markets next year, first of eight EVs from Renault-Nissan Alliance slated for next three years. 

It's not often that a top auto executive publicly takes a stand that commits the company to a course of action that puts it out in front of the pack.

Comfort, in the auto industry as in most others, lies in conformity.

But Carlos Ghosn, never one to shy away from taking the lead when others dare only to follow, is staking his own reputation and the economic future of both of the companies he heads  - France's Renault and Japan's Nissan - on the conviction that electric vehicles are no longer to be considered concepts and prototypes best suited for PR campaigns and media feeding  frenzies at the major global auto shows.

In an opinion piece written expressly for Edmunds Inside Line, Ghosn lays out his philosophy and rationale for leapfrogging the competition to become the first automaker to put a mass-market electric car into production - the 2010 Nissan Leaf - and to vow to field a slate of eight retail and commercial EVs in the next few years, four from Nissan and four from Renault.

Ghosn doesn't claim in his piece- the first in what Inside Line editors intend to become a regular series of think pieces from top automotive executives - that the Renault Nissan Alliance was a leader is developing EVs, pointing out that, in fat, electric cars were around  a century ago.

He does say, though, that after being "relegated to low-volumes specialist applications" for decades, now - not later - is the time to bring them into the mainstream.

What we like about Ghosn, in addition to his willingness to stick his neck out, is that he's not making some smarmy bid for ecological sainthood.

He runs a business and has made his decision on purely business grounds, the three chief among them being:

• Oil prices will rise and the cost of gasoline with them.
• Governments will continue to increase restrictions on vehicle emissions, making zero emission EVs an invaluable part of any automakers' portfolio.
• Public concern about the quality of the environment -and the automobile's impact on same - will continue to increase.

Facing those conditions, he says, no automaker that hopes to remain competitive can long ignore the need to electrify.

As for the Renault-Nissan EVs, Ghosn has this to say:

"We are confident in our lithium-ion battery technology, which Nissan has been developing over the past 17 years.  We are producing our own batteries, through a joint venture with NEC, so we will have better control of quality, cost and the ability to meet our forecast demand.  We consider the battery as a core technology and a business.  Through a separate venture with Sumitomo, we are planning a business to refabricate, resell, reuse and recycle the batteries, giving them a second life as energy-storage solutions in markets worldwide.
 
"We are also the only automotive group that has established more than 30 partnerships with governments, municipalities, utility providers and other organizations to lay the foundation for both the charging infrastructure and for incentives and policies that will encourage consumers to embrace electric cars. From San Diego to Yokohama to Monaco, the momentum is building for zero-emission mobility."

There's lots more, and you can read it all on Inside Line.

And, of course, we invite you visit Green Car Advisor's extensive Nissan and Renault categories to follow the companies' green patch over the years.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.