TOKYO (May 19, 2008) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., NEC Corporation, and its subsidiary NEC TOKIN Corporation, today announced that its joint-venture company – Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) – has begun full operations. AESC’s start of operation follows the announcement of the joint-venture in April 2007.

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS...0519-01-e.html


With all the promises of what is "just around the corner", It was nice to read one article that used the words "begun full operations". It's still not the announcement most of us want to hear, i.e. the vehicles are in the showroom.
But I feel we are one step closer.

 

I could not believe what I heard a few weeks ago. Nissan's President was on cnbc making the announcement of Nissan's move to ELECTRIC, NO EMISSION VEHICLES. I almost fell out of my chair. Have you noticed, not many car companies are using the terminology "ELECTRIC, ZERO EMISSION, etc.". They are using "plug-in hybrids". Well, that is fine too but I really wish the public realizes plug-ins are NOT the only option. Unfortunately, most of the public are unaware of the EV1. Just think, if we continued on with ELECTRIC, I am sure gas would not be priced at $4 a gallon. My guess about $1. Oh well, we shall wait to see who hits the market first with ELECTRIC VEHICLES- Nissan, Toyota, Honda??? I am sure it won't be GM.

 

Think Global Motors is already producing electric vehicles and has done so since the late 1990's. GM invested millions of dollars into the company this YEAR!

Production plant



The production facilities, Think Technologies, are located at Aurskog, some 50km east of Oslo. The first electric vehicle production line was installed here in 1998.


Today, the facilities consist of an 8,000m2 production area, with one main assembly line. Many of our employees have experience from the Swedish automotive industry.
Present capacity at Aurskog is an annual of 5,000 units per shift, starting this year with a target of 1,200 vehicles. In 2009, the plant is set to produce a total volume of 10,000 cars on two daily shifts. The production facilities are sub-assembly and assembly operations only. Porsche Consulting has helped us to make this one of most efficient small assembly plants in Europe, and Think Technologies has more than 17 years of experience in global procurement. TH!NK city consists of 570 bought-in components, shipped from suppliers in Europe, Asia and the US. Think Technology manages the global part supply logistics and carries out the final assembly, testing, validation and quality control sign-off of all vehicles.
The production facilities are designed for a lean manufacturing system. We strive to reduce all types of waste, to ensure an efficient factory. The facilities at Aurskog are powered and heated by clean and renewable hydroelectric power, and generate a minimum of waste and emissions. All manuals and production instructions are online, making the production paper-free. We have focused on creating a good working environment, resulting in a noise-free plant, with motivated and dedicated operators.

 

I am amazed due to NEC collaboration with Nissan. I hope this will not be a initial decision but something serious.