Japan: Investing in Batteries

The Nissan Motor Company and the NEC Corporation plan a joint venture that would invest 12 billion yen ($115 million) over three years to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for use in next-generation green vehicles. The batteries are seen as essential to making gasoline-electric hybrid cars more cost-competitive and to making pure electric cars practical. The joint venture, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, would initially have capacity to build 13,000 units a year at a plant in Kanagawa, near Tokyo, first supplying batteries for forklifts in 2009. It would increase annual capacity gradually to 65,000 units in 2011 for use in Nissan’s in-house hybrid car and electric vehicles due in 2010. A rival, Mitsubishi Motors, is expected to begin producing lithium-ion batteries by 2009 in a joint venture.

 

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