Nissan Rises in Tokyo After Displaying Electric Car

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third- largest automaker, rose to the highest in 10 months after displaying its first electric car, aimed at a market it anticipates will be larger than hybrids.

Nissan gained 5.4 percent to 726 yen, the highest since Sep. 29., at the close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading.

Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said yesterday electric cars may account for at least 10 percent of global vehicle sales by 2020. Nissan has failed to match the popularity of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid and Honda Motor Co.’s Insight, and is betting demand for emission-free cars will offset the restrictions of limited range.

“Investors are jumping to Nissan after it actually unveiled the much-awaited car,” said Koichi Nishi, an equity strategist at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. “Products that fulfill the promise of environmental-friendliness are encouraging.”

The company plans to sell its electric car, the Leaf, in the U.S., Japan and Europe next year. Nissan’s new electric car can travel 100 miles on a full charge and can seat as many as five people. The car’s lithium-ion battery pack can be fully recharged at a 200-volt outlet in eight hours, or in less than 30 minutes from a so-called fast-charge station, according to Nissan. In contrast, hybrids can refuel at conventional gasoline stations.

U.S. Loan

Nissan aims to use a $1.6 billion U.S. loan to retool a factory in Tennessee so battery-powered cars can be made on the same line that currently produces hybrids and other models. The automaker will also receive grants and loans from the U.K. and Portugal to build factories for lithium-ion batteries. The company hasn’t disclosed the amount of aid it will receive from the two European governments.

The Japanese automaker has said it will have the capacity to produce 200,000 electric vehicles in the U.S., 100,000 in Europe and 50,000 in Japan. Nissan and partner Renault SA, which owns 44 percent of the Japanese carmaker, plan to offer electric vehicles in the U.S. and Japan starting in 2010 and globally in 2012.

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