Industry News
Nissan to develop its own hybrid technology
5th April 2006
Nissan, so far dependent on Toyota for hybrid powertrains, is designing a new electric motor, lithium-ion battery and inverter package of its own, which reportedly may nearly double the acceleration performance of vehicles that run on fuel cells, electricity or hybrid engines when launched in 2009. Nissan’s first hybrid, an Altima saloon, will come first, this year, using Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive components.
Nissan's electric motor and lithium-ion batteries will be up to 35% smaller and lighter, and 30% cheaper than current hybrid systems, according to an interview granted by Nissan in Japan yesterday; ts inverter, which regulates the electric current used in the powertrain, will be 30% cheaper and 20% smaller, with double the power of current systems.
- The Toyota system-based hybrid Altima will be sold in the US to help Nissan meet CAFE fuel economy standards, limiting its exposure to federal fines, rather than as a potentially profitable model in its own right.
(Source: Kae Inoue in Tokyo - kinoue@bloomberg.net, 4 April)
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