Nissan plans to invest JPY50bn (US$554m) to increase electric vehicle battery production for French partner Renault, according to the Nikkei newspaper on Tuesday.
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Automotive Energy Supply, Nissan’s joint venture with the NEC group, will upgrade its plant for lithium ion batteries in Kanagawa prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, to supply 35,000 batteries a year to Renault which is on schedule to launch a family of EVs from 2011.
Up to JPY20bn will be invested to upgrade the AES plant and a further JPY30bn spent to jointly build a new plant with Renault in France to supply lithium ion batteries.
The alliance partners expect to begin operation at the new plant by 2012, and aims to supply batteries for around 60,000 cars, Nikkei said.
The two firms will use a low-interest loan facility offered by the French government for green cars, it said, adding that they also plan to share motors and other key components of electric vehicles to cut production costs.
Nissan’s chief executive Carlos Ghosn said last month his company aims to make rechargeable batteries for electric cars one of its key businesses, predicting a bright future for zero-emission vehicles.
Nissan plans to launch its first electric car, the Leaf, in late 2010.
