Infiniti to build electric car

Nissan’s luxury car division, Infiniti, is to build its first electric vehicle.

Plans for the four-seater, electric, Audi A3-sized car were unveiled at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show with the promise that the design would deliver “inspired performance”.

Nissan plans to build on the lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor drivetrain used in its forthcoming Leaf model.

The world’s first mass-produced electric car

The Nissan ‘Leaf’ is a hatchback design (pictured right), which the company hopes will become the world’s first mass-produced electric car.

Nissan believes that electric vehicles have enough potential to justify the considerable investment it is making – £200m at its Sunderland factory alone.

Nissan has said that it plans to make 100,000 electric cars a year by 2012. The firm is gambling on a future car market dominated by electric vehicles rather than the petrol/battery hybrids currently being developed by its rivals, Toyota and Honda.

Drivers of the Nissan Leaf will lease batteries separately from the car itself. The manufacturer plans reduce rental costs by selling the batteries after drivers are finished with them.