YOKOSUKA, Japan — Nissan showed off its super-quiet, zero-emission electric car Monday — a key green offering for Japan’s No. 3 automaker, which has fallen behind in hybrid technology. Nissan showed the prototype in a Tiida compact that is already on sale. It is withholding the unveiling of the electric car’s exterior design until the Tokyo-based manufacturer opens its new Yokohama headquarters Sunday.
“Nissan will be a leader in zero-emission vehicles,” chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga said. Sales of Nissan’s electric vehicle are scheduled to begin in Japan and the U.S. next year. Nissan says it plans to mass-produce zero-emission cars globally starting in 2012.
Nissan has received a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to modify its Smyrna, Tenn., plant to produce electric vehicles. The Associated Press
