egmCarTech

Andy Palmer, senior vice president and head of product planning at Nissan, says that investments to produce batteries at its Tennessee plant in the U.S. could exceed $1 billion, accounting for the bulk of Nissan’s government loan it was granted last month.

Nissan received a total of $1.6 billion to modify its Smyrna, Tennessee plant to produce zero-emission electric vehicles and lithium-ion battery packs to power them.

Palmer said that the site will have three “modules,” equivalent to the production of 54,000 batteries. Each module will cost $350 million to produce.

Nissan also plans to retool an existing line at its Smyrna plant to produce electric-vehicles in 2012. It is hoping to produce 15,000 electric-vehicles there a year.

First Drive: Nissan Cube EV Prototype:

- By: Omar Rana

Source: Reuters

Related Posts:

1. Department of Energy announces closing of $1.4 billion loan to Nissan to build Leaf EV in U.S.
2. Nissan working on cheaper battery, will sell to suppliers
3. Miscellaneous Thoughts: UK men want to date Top Gear crew, Obama announces $2.4 billion for battery and EV development
4. Nissan gets $1.6 billion to produce EVs and lithium-ion batteries in Smyrna
5. Nissan offers buyouts and eliminates shift at Tennessee plants