Nissan considering London trial for new electric vehicles

Earlier this week Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn revealed there were plans to launch a new family of electric-vehicles for both Renault and Nissan and the first of these are expected to be on the market by 2010. Before their launch, Nissan will conduct extensive testing of its new electric drivetrains and one of the primary locations it’s considering is London.

Renault and Nissan and will build the electric cars using a shared battery system developed in Japan. The first production models will be sold in the U.S. but there are plans to launch the cars soon after in Israel and Denmark and eventually the UK. Speaking with Reuters, Ghosn revealed there were negotiations with London officials but at this it is just a feasibility study.

Ghosn hopes to see metropolitan areas eventually build networks of battery stations where drivers of EVs could pull in and recharge or swap batteries after long trips or continual use without recharging. “We are aiming for a minimum range of 100km,” Ghosn told reporters.

Pictured above is the Nissan Denki Cube concept that was displayed last month at the New York Auto Show. The concept is based on the Japanese-market Cube minicar, which will also be launched in the U.S., and is powered by an electric motor running on lithium-ion batteries.

Nissan Denki Cube EV concept