CEO of Nissan: Global EV Market about to Take Off

The worldwide market for electric vehicles is about to take off, proving critics wrong and forcing auto companies to scramble to produce them, according to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor Company’s chief executive officer. In December, Ghosn’s company will start selling the all-electric Nissan Leaf sedan.

On Monday, Ghosn said in an interview that he is more worried about when and how to build additional plants to meet demand than the roughly $5.03 billion investment that Nissan and partner company Renault SA—of which Ghosn is also CEO—have put into the first models of the vehicles.

Ghosn was also very optimistic about the recovery of the United States car market, estimating that sales would hit 12 million vehicles in 2010, an increase of 15 percent from 2009, and return quickly to over 14 million vehicles yearly afterwards.

Moreover, Ghosn believes European car sales have been stronger than expected in 2010, but warned that the Greek debt crisis may drag sales down for the remainder of the year.

Leading the EV Market

Nissan is angling for a position of leadership in the electric vehicle industry. The automaker expects to sell 50,000 EVs in the U.S., Europe, and Japan each year for 2011 and 2012 and then jump to 500,000 units in 2013, when Nissan says the Leaf will finally turn a profit.

“You see a lot of skepticism in the industry. If a competitor doesn't have an electric car, they are skeptical. When the public jumps in, they are going to say, 'Why didn't we see this earlier?'" Mr. Ghosn explained. "My biggest worry is that this market is going to grow too fast" and necessitate more investments in plants.

Mr. Ghosn issued his optimistic statement only a week after Honda executives questioned the demand for electric vehicles and in spite of tepid assessments of the EV market.

Accounting and research company PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that worldwide sales of electric vehicles for all automakers will total 500,000 units in 2013. On top of Nissan, Chrysler, GM, Ford, BMW, Mitsubishi, Daimler, and Toyota all expect to have electrics for sale by then.

Banking on the Leaf

Nissan is depending on a strong preliminary response to the Leaf. Over 13,000 customers worldwide have made reservations for the Nissan Leaf, Mr. Ghosn said. In order to reserve a leaf in the U.S., customers must pay a $99 refundable deposit.

In the United States, the Leaf will retail for $32,780, and buyers can receive a tax credit of $7,500. Leaf drivers will also have to pay as much as $2,200 to put in a 220-volt charging station in their homes for the electric vehicle, which has a range of about 100 miles on a full charge. Buyers will receive a 50-percent federal tax credit on the charging station.

Nissan has estimated that the Leaf’s cost of ownership, including fuel, will be less over five years than a similarly equipped Honda Civic or Toyota Prius hybrid after taking the tax credits into account.