DETROIT - In the next four years, Nissan Motor Co.'s plans call for the launch of three all-electric vehicles in the U.S. in addition to the battery-powered Leaf, the Detroit News reported. Those three additional EVs will include an electric Infiniti car, a small commercial van and a small urban car.
Carlos Tavares, executive vice president at Nissan and the automaker's top manager for North America and Latin America, touched on those plans this week during a presentation to the Detroit Automotive Press Association.
Tavares also disputed newly released EV market projections from J.D. Power and Associates. A new report from the research firm estimates that combined global sales of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will total 5.2 million units in 2020, or just 7.3 percent of the 70.9 million passenger vehicles forecast to be sold worldwide by that year. The report, titled "Drive Green 2020: More Hope than Reality,"offers a rather pessimistic view of the future EV market.
"You won't be surprised that we disagree and are more bullish," Tavares said during his presentation.
Nissan has said it expects electric cars to represent 10 percent of global sales by 2020. However, the automaker does expect U.S. EV sales to rise more slowly compared to some other markets.
