Nissan Motor Co unveiled a new prototype electric vehicle Wednesday with batteries twice as powerful as conventional technology, aiming to take a lead in zero-emission cars. Japan's third-largest automaker said the front-wheel drive, boxy-shaped car has a newly developed 80 kilowatt motor with advanced lithium-ion batteries installed under the vehicle's floor to avoid taking up space.
The laminated batteries, jointly developed with electronics giant NEC Corp, pack twice the electric power of conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries currently used in hybrid and electric cars, it said.
Nissan aims to start selling an electric car in the United States and Japan in 2010 and the rest of the world in 2012. It will have a new "unique bodystyle" that is not based on any existing model, the company said. Nissan has been slower than rivals Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co to embrace petrol-electric hybrids, but it aims to become the industry leader in electric vehicles.