Nissan to make 10,000 EVs by March

Nissan Motor Co. will accelerate production of its Leaf electric vehicle (EV), in line with its plan to manufacture 10,000 units by the end of March, according to Senior Vice President Toshiharu Sakai. Following its launch of the Leaf, the automaker has so far produced about 1,000 units of the EV by the end of December and about 2,000 units in January. Nissan will build the remaining 7,000 units in February and March. The automaker expects to meet the output target of 50,000 units in fiscal 2011 ending in March next year, Sakai said. The Leaf is being built on the same production lines as gasoline cars. In the production process, batteries and motors are installed in the EV, while other cars are installed with gasoline tanks and engines. (January 25, 2011)