Nissan Leaf

The Japanese company first saw the potential of lithium-ion batteries for vehicular use in 1992, and almost two decades later is about to deploy the technology.

The five-door hatchback, in appropriate eco-green-hued sky blue regalia and with LED headlights and taillights ablaze, negotiated the unlit alley-like backstage passage, effortlessly climbed up the ramp, crossed the stage, and stopped spot-on on the turntable. Alighted smartly from the car were four distinguished occupants, demonstrating that it was a true four/five-seat car. They were former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa of Kanagawa Prefecture, Mayor Hiroshi Nakada of Yokohama City, and Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn, who drove the new Nissan Leaf electric car to the center stage in the grand opening of the new Nissan global headquarters.

The prefecture of Kanagawa, adjacent to metropolitan Tokyo, is the bailiwick for the four, as it were. Nissan has relocated its global headquarters to Yokohama and has major R&D and manufacturing operations in Kanagawa. As for the Leaf, it is being developed at the Nissan Technical Center at Atsugi. Basic research for the lithium-ion battery is being done at the research center in Yokosuka. The vehicle will be mass-produced at the Oppama factory, which will serve as the mother plant for planned global expansion. The propulsion motor is manufactured at the Yokohama plant, and the battery pack, inverter, and battery management system is produced by the Nissan-NEC joint-venture Automotive Energy Supply Corp. in Zama.