Lots of Nissan electric car news today. Shortly after hearing that Nissan intends to be a global leader in affordable electric cars, news comes that the company is looking at a few cities to trial some of their new electric vehicle technology. One such city on the short-list is reportedly London. Carlos Ghosn says, "We have not yet got to the level of talking to the mayor's office. At this stage it is just a feasibility study, but London is definitely among the cities interested." London seems to be a rather obvious choice, considering the cities controversial new congestion charges which would offer zero-emission vehicles a big advantage over their gas or diesel-consuming cousins.

Let's recap the other recent news. Israel and Denmark want in on the electric car craze too. In fact, What Car reports that Israeli authorities have struck a deal with Nissan allowing the automaker exclusive rights to sell electric cars in Israel for a period of ten years. California is slated to be the first stop for an upcoming Nissan electric car in the U.S.

Interestingly, Nissan hopes to get 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, of range from a single battery pack, which could then be swapped out or recharged at an EV station -- sorta like an electrified version of today's gas stations and part of the Project Better Place idea. Ghosn says that Nissan is fully capable of offering an EV, sans battery, for the same cost of a normal gas-powered car. After the initial purchase, the cost of the battery and the amount of money spent keeping it charged will be less than the cost of gasoline. Ghosn also says that Nissan's electric cars will be sexy and attractive. That seems to cover all the bases rather well. Nissan, you've got our attention... we're waiting!

[Source: What Car]

We don't use the word "quadricycle" around here much. But over in the UK, quardicycles are a specific vehicle type defined as "a vehicle with four wheels whose unladen mass is not more than 400kg (excluding batteries if it is an electric vehicle) and whose maximum continuous rated power does not exceed 15 kW," according to the Department for Transport. Basically, a teeny-tiny NEV (just right for Elton John).

Yesterday, the DfT said it wants a review of the European safety regulations for these vehicles now that they're becoming more popular. The original standards were set up at a time when no one thought that vehicles that fit the technical definitions of a quadricycle, like the REVA G-Wiz EV (pictured), would be used much. Now that this is coming to pass, DfT says it's time to take another look.

in response, GoinGreen, the UK importer and retailer of the G-Wiz, released a statement today saying the G-Wiz "has an exemplary safety record" and "no reported serious injuries." But, if you must test, then "we welcome any informed debate or Government initiatives to make quadricycles an even safer means of urban transport."

Official statements from both organizations are after the break.


Related:

• G-Wiz EV AC has greater range and higher top speed

[Source: Department for Transport, GoinGreen Ltd.]

London, the city where you have to pay to drive your dirty, CO2-emitting car, is doing a lot to clean the air. City officials' latest move was the unveiling of two electric car-charging stations. Fuel-hungry EVs can find the stations in Wellington Street and Southampton Street near Covent Garden in the West End. The most amazing part? The juice is free.

Yes, I said free. And there are 48 more planned for Westminster City Council's car parks.

Councillor Alan Bradley told the BBC that, "Putting free charging points on the street where people need them most is a simple concept which we hope will help galvanise broader appeal for electric car use. Electric cars are ideally suited to city driving and we hope in years to come we will see more and more people using them to travel around the City of London" (British spellings kept to enhance the mood).

Oh, and don't forget that EVs are exempt from the city congestion charge. Over 750 G-Whiz electric vehicles have been sold in London, and if electric car sales don't take off in the city now, I don't know what will make it happen.

Related:

• G-Whiz sweepstakes winner returns EV because town can't charge it
• British company offering electric cars for rent

[Source: BBC via EV World]