Nissan Pulls Ahead Of Detroit In The Electric Car Race

Nissan’s new Leaf car doesn’t use any gas and it does not produce any emissions. It is electric and it will be available in the US, Japan, and Europe next year.

Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn could not resist showing off the new vehicle recently and said that he expects 10% of all cars sold worldwide in 2020 to be electric. Nissan’s early stake in the market could significantly improve its fortunes if Ghosn is right.

Nissan is stepping into the market with a viable electric car ahead of its Japanese competitors Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) and well ahead of The Big Three. Nissan expects to sell the Leaf for as little at $25,000 which will make it competitive with most high-mileage gas and diesel cars and also hybrids which have come to dominate the market for “green” vehicles.

The electric car has fascinated the industry and governments concerned about energy use for some time. Most studies show that powering the cars when recharging them does not overtax the electric grid. The vehicles currently do not have ranges of hundreds of miles, but they work well in commuter areas which tend to have congested roads around large cities which are plagued by pollution. That makes the cars attractive in developed markets but could also make them ideal solutions in the large cities of China and Mexico where air quality is a major problem.

Nissan’s entry into the electric car market, if successful, will leave Detroit flat footed, again. Nissan could have a lead of two or three years and, in the auto business, that can be an eternity.

Douglas A. McIntyre