Project Better Place is set to expand beyond Israel and Denmark with an agreement for Portugal to join the electric vehicle infrastructure project. Portugese Prime Minister Jose Socrates will soon sign on to the plan that will use electric cars from Renault and Nissan. Part of Project Better Place involves setting up networks of public charging points and battery exchange stations. Utility company Energias de Portugal SA is working with other European utilities to create the Grid for Vehicles charging network. Renault and Nissan are expected to spend $500 million to $1 billion on developing vehicles for the project. Portugal's investment in the program is not known.

[Source: Forbes]

Click for high-resolution gallery

We already had spoken about the fuel cell technology (borrowed from Nissan) installed in a plain Renault Scénic, one of Europe's most popular compact minivans. The interesting part of the concept, at least from the aesthetic point of view, is that the car's interior room remained untouched, thanks to sandwhiching most of the components in the floor of the vehicle.

Like other fuel cell vehicles, the fuel-cell Scénic ZEV H2 features a hybrid powertrain. The system includes lithium-ion batteries that, together with the high-pressure tanks, allow the car to have a 220-mile range. The 350-bar hydrogen tank (3.7kg of H₂) will be substituted by a 700 bar tank at a later date, which would allow a range of more than 300 miles.

Find the full press release after the jump.

[Source: Renault]

Honda is all set to corner the small, two-door hybrid "sporty" car market with its CR-Z coupe, but rumors now indicate that Nissan could have a little something up its corporate sleeves along a similar vein as well. Powered by a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine along with an electric motor of undetermined size, this hybrid would be based on the same platform as Nissan's Tiida economy car. The small hatchback would be intended primarily for Europe, and we have no idea if the concept is being considered for other markets. Rumors suggest that a DSG transmission would be used in lieu of the more common CVT automatic used by most hybrids. Interestingly, drag could be reduced by using aerodynamic underbody panels, as is done on the amazing GT-R sportscar.

Also in line for a possible hybrid using the same drivetrain would be Nissan's main partner, Renault. If these rumors prove true, expect a launch in late 2010. Thanks for the tip, Steve!

[Source: 7Tune.com]

While Nissan/Renault has been very helpful to Project Better Place in Israel by offering to supply electric cars that will work with their recharging and battery swapping service, its cooperation with PBP may not be extending to its homeland of Japan. Not only has Nissan undertaken its own investigation to decide what business model is best suited for the island nation (Like the "Project," they are looking closely at the battery-lease model as a way to keep the initial vehicle purchase price low), its already begun putting together a consortium of companies to deal with everything from batteries to real estate.

Nissan, as well as Mitsubishi and Subaru, are also participants in a project sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. This electric vehicle promotional effort, said to continue until 2015, will involve charging station testing, examine different insurance models, and attempt to get the public on-board.

Though there was talk of Project Better Place making a go of it in Japan, facing competition from its partner on their home turf will probably persuade them to concentrate their expansion efforts on some other island. Click the "read" link for more details.

[Source: Globes]

We already knew about Nissan's X-trail running on hydrogen, so this might not come as a surprise, but Nissan's partner Renault has launched the fuel-cell Scénic ZEV H₂ prototype. This compact people carrier improves the X-trail's performance and almost matches the numbers of a regular car: maximum speed is 160 km/h (about 100mph) and it's got a range of 350 km (200 miles) thanks to a 350 bar-pressurized tank which can contain up to 3.7 kg of H₂. Renault stated that this tank was ready for 700 bar pressure, which would extend the range to 500 km (330 mi).

Nissan supplied the fuel cell, the tank and the lithium-ion battery, while Renault's engineers prepared the Scénic's floor to be able to admit them. This meant that the car got 6 cm (2.5 in) taller, but overall interior space, including trunk space, was preserved. You can watch a video (in French) here.

[Source: Autoplus]

The half dozen or so Americans who actually got really excited the other day about the prospect of Nissan selling its new Maxima diesel only with a manual transmission can go back to their routines. The rest of you who abhor the thought of manipulating a third pedal can now go back and re-consider the new compression ignition option. One of the crew from Motive met up with a Nissan engineer at a Maxima media drive and posed the question of transmission choice. It looks like U.S. drivers who opt for diesel will actually be saddled with an automatic regardless of their preference. While a manual is under consideration for the U.S. market, it's very unlikely to happen. With upwards of 95 percent of U.S. drivers opting for self shifting gearboxes, a manual probably wouldn't sell enough units here to justify the cost of certification.

[Source: Motive, thanks to Stu for the tip!]

As we reported the other day, Chrysler is working as hard as possible to get its gas-guzzling fleet more in line with consumer desires. These days, that means fuel efficiency, so it comes as little surprise that Dodge is renewing its efforts to get the Hornet small car up and running. Up until this point, it had been assumed that the Chrysler joint venture with Chinese automaker Chery would produce the Hornet, but it seems that the Chinese company may not be quite ready for prime time. Instead, Chrysler's recent tie-up with Nissan is now expected to result in the new Dodge vehicle.

Chrysler still has plans to introduce a budget line of vehicles with its Chinese counterpart. Dodge's upcoming Hornet, though, will not be an entry level model at all. The Hornet is expected to compete with upper level small cars such as the Mini, which has seen excellent sales as of late due to its fuel efficiency.

[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]

Click the new Maxima for a high-res gallery of 60+ photos

According to Yo Usaba, senior veep of powertrains for Nissan, the upcoming clean diesel engine for the next Nissan Maxima may be paired only with a manual transmission. Although the stick would likely be the most efficient transmission choice, it doesn't seem all that appropriate for the American market, where automatic transmissions are the rule. It seems that Nissan is concerned with turbo-lag, which is the lull before the turbocharger kicks in and delivers the power. For this reason, the new diesel X-Trail for the Japanese market will come only in a shift-it-yourself flavor.

Apparently, diesels have the same poor reputation in Japan as in the U.S. and many Japanese drivers are stick-shift neophytes. Since this information hasn't kept Nissan from launching its first diesel in its home market with a manual transmission as its sole option, many are concluding that the same could be true in the states. We hope not, as sales would surely be negatively impacted by such a decision. A CVT would likely be a decent choice for this application, and Nissan has proven rather adept at making its seamless transmissions sell in America. We hope that it can make that combination work.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The executive vice-president of Nissan R&D, Mitsuhiko Yamashita, expects the fourth-generation of lithium ion batteries to yield ranges of about 400 kilometers (248 miles) by 2015. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, that's about four times what the current first-gen packs are capable of. Yamashita-san also says the second generation should arrive by 2010 and be good for 170 klicks (105 miles) while we can expect 300 km (186 miles) third gen by 2012.

To those of you who are saying to themselves right now, "What is he even talking about? The Tesla Roadster gets almost that kind of range now with the version 1.5 drive train." (Oh yes, I can hear you). Well, I assume he is talking about slightly different chemistry than Tesla is using as well as a pack small enough to fit something like the Nissan Mixim concept (pictured above). Had we been there in Paris with him, we would have asked how many watt hours per kilogram he was talking about but, alas, we were not. He did give some production numbers though, saying they would start making 13,000 units next year in their joint venture with NEC and ramp up eventually to an annual amount of 65,000 units.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

The latest Japanese automaker to announce their intent to participate in the Environmental Showcase that will be taking place in Hokkaido, Japan in conjunction with the G8 summit in July. Environmental and energy issues are expected to be the main topic of discussion at the meeting. Nissan will be demonstrating the first of its new clean diesel vehicles. The X-Trail diesel will use a new four cylinder turbo diesel co-developed with French partner Renault. As with most other new diesels the M9R uses a high pressure (1,600BAR) common rail injection system with piezo-electric injectors. The exhaust after-treatment system consists of a lean NOx trap and diesel particulate filter. The X-Trail diesel launches in September of this year and will meet the new Japanese emissions standards that go into effect in October 2009. The X-Trail has never been offered in North America and Nissan has not indicated whether they will use the engine in the U.S. market in addition to the diesel V6 coming to the Maxima in 2010.

[Source: Nissan]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Japan-spec 2008 Nissan Cube

The Nissan Cube is coming to the U.S. next Spring, and we'll get our first look at the U.S.-spec car when it makes its debut at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show. I recently had the opportunity to drive a Japanese-market edition for four days, and it's a very neat little car. Driving the JDM vehicle also illustrates how differently small Japanese cars are set up depending on their target market. Is the Cube an economy car? In Japan, it would certainly qualify, boasting a fuel economy rating of 16 km/l (some 37 mpg U.S.) according to the country's 10-15 mode test cycle. That's basically the combined cycle, and the test is done at low speeds. For Japan, where there's plenty of urban driving and road congestion, it probably serves as a fair indicator of what drivers will experience. For us, not so much. Read on after the jump.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.

The somewhat funky Micra is going to be replaced in 2010. Nissan announced that its British plant in Sunderland, as well as other plants in four Leading Competitive Countries, will be building its replacement. It will be made from a new A-car platform that will be shared by three models by Renault and Nissan. The announcement also stated that the car could be also built in Chennai, India, which means that either the new Micra or a similar engineered version could be designed for emerging markets. The Micra is currently the smallest car offered by Nissan in Europe and shares a lot with the previous generation Renault clio, including the fuel-sipping dCi diesels. Full press release after the jump.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsuibshi i MiEV

News comes from the Japan Post Service Co, which is the mail delivery unit of Japan Post Group, that the mail carrier plans a switch to completely electric vehicles as soon as possible. This announcement comes as record-high gasoline prices sweep the world. Major Japanese automakers have big plans regarding all-electric cars, with manufacturers such as Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi all readying introductions of their first models in 2010. Stocks of each of these companies soared with the news from the Post, along with battery makers which have relationships with those auto companies. Mitsubishi and its partner Yuasa appear to have benefited the most from the announcement, with shares of those companies jumping a surprisingly strong 3.7 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

In an effort to start saving money on gas right away, the Post also suggested that it will start testing hybrid vehicles, which could fill in until the fully electric vehicles and the associated necessary infrastructure are ready.

[Source: Bloomberg, Reuters]

Nissan and Renault have already announced plans to start offering battery electric vehicles beginning in 2010 for fleet testing with retail availability a year or two later. However batteries aren't the only technology they are looking at for emissions-free running. Hydrogen fuel cells are also in the picture. Nissan has been testing fuel cell-powered versions of its X-Trail SUV for the past two years with examples leased to Japanese government agencies. Renault and Nissan are now jointly working on a fuel cell version of the Renault Grand Scenic compact MPV.

The Scenic ZEV H2 uses a Nissan-developed fuel cell stack, with high pressure hydrogen storage and lithium ion batteries for recapturing kinetic energy during regenerative braking. All the hardware is mounted under the floor of the vehicle, maintaining seating for five adults. Both the X-Trail and Scenic will be shown at a variety of green events around Europe this year.

[Source: Nissan]

Nissan has announced a new range of forklifts that use lithium ion batteries provided by Nissan and NEC's joint venture AESC. These batteries were first seen powering the Mixim and the Pivo 2 concepts during the Frankfurt Motor Show. Does this move of the batteries to actual production vehicles mean that we'll get us a Nissan EV as expected? Nissan states that this is part of its Nissan GT 2012 strategy to produce an EV for the U. S. in 2010 and 2012 in the rest of the world. The new forklift models were introduced during Hannover's Logistics Fair and will be on sale in 2009, if development is ready. The first units for the European market will be probably built at Nissan's plant in Navarra, Spain.

[Source: Nissan]