Nissan eyes top spot for green autos

Nissan Motor Co. has announced a new, six-year environmental plan aimed at making it the tops in zero-emission vehicle sales by 2016.

The plan, called the Nissan Green Program 2016, will focus on three areas: reduction of carbon footprint, shift to renewable energy and an increase in the diversity of resources used by Nissan. The automaker is also eyeing a sales target of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles sold across the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

“More consumers are demanding products in line with their values, including cars and trucks with a lower carbon footprint. At the same time, we are using technology to make our factories greener and more efficient,” said Nissan president and chief executive Carlos Ghosn.

Detailed actions under NGP 2016 include a Nissan-lead development of an all-new fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) together with strategic partner, Daimler.

The plan also calls for Nissan to lead the way in fuel efficiency with a 35 per cent fuel economy improvement compared with 2005 on a corporate average.

Helping hit the target, the company says, would be an all-new front-wheel drive hybrid model; an all-new plug-in hybrid model based on Nissan's unique technology; and the introducing a next-generation continuously variable transmission (CVT) and reach 20 million units of cumulative CVT production since Nissan's first launch in 1992.

The maker of the all-electric LEAF added that growth is expected to come from emerging markets like India, Russia and Brazil.