Nissan Reportedly Will Create Electric-Vehicle Program in Large Chinese City

Add Nissan to the list of automakers (including Chongqing Changan Auto, BYD, Brilliance, Chery, Dongfeng and SAIC) that are intent upon plugging into the rough-and-tumble Chinese market for hybrid-electric and battery-electric cars.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Nissan is negotiating with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to create a pilot electric-vehicle program in Wuhan, a city in central China with nine million residents.

The deal is unusual, the Journal reports, because Beijing typically doesn't forge such  partnerships with foreign companies. The newspaper reported that the deal, which calls for Nissan to contribute cars and help create a recharging network, could be completed as soon as Friday.

Chinese leaders have made it clear that they want their country to be the world leader in hybrid and electric vehicle production. A deal with Nissan apparently is seen as attractive because the Japanese auto maker is aggressively pursuing the global introduction of a line of electric vehicles that will make its debut in 2010.

Beijing has been encouraging the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles to help clean up the country's miserable air pollution problems and reduce its ravenous appetite for oil.

Chinese leaders have announced plans to offer subsidies for residents and businesses in 13 large cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, who purchase hybrid cars, trucks and buses, or vehicles that run on electricity, liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural gas.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

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Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 11:49 AM

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Alternative Fuels, BYD, Chery, China, China, Dongfeng, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric

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Chinese Hybrids, Electric Vehicles, Legislation, Nissan