Nissan Leaf Begins Production Today, 250,000 To Be Built By 2012
Nissan‘s Oppama plant, located south of Tokyo, began producing the Leaf electric vehicle, with exports commencing in November. Nissan is also building plants in the United States and Europe to help with production, but initial vehicles will be built in Japan.
Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn. plant will have the capacity for 150,000 units, while the Sunderland, England plant as well as Oppama both have capacity for 50,000 units each. The Smyrna plant is part of a $1.8 billion investment, including a $1.4 billion loan from the Department of Energy.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that 1 million electric vehicles sold per year would be the “magic number” to make them profitable without governmental assistance.
[Source: Automotive News]
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And 5 years after, 250,000 toxic batteries that will get shipped to China for "recycling" when they go bad and have to be replaced. Nothing like replacing your engine every 5 years, eh?