The RENAULT-NISSAN alliance & Tennessee form ZERO-EMISSION vehicle partnership

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - The Renault-Nissan Alliance today announced that Nissan and the State of Tennessee are forming a partnership to promote zero-emission vehicles, including electric vehicles, in Middle Tennessee with participation from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other partners.

In May, Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Renault, SA, committed the Alliance to be a global leader in zero-emission vehicles (ZEV). Nissan, through its GT 2012 five-year business plan, will introduce ZEVs in the United States in 2010 and two years later will mass market ZEVs globally.

Ghosn made the announcement of the Tennessee agreement during the dedication of Nissan Americas, a newly completed building in Franklin serving as the coordination point for the company’s operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Through the Tennessee project, consumers will soon be able to drive vehicles that deliver true sustainable mobility,” Ghosn said. “The state, along with other partners, are to be commended for stepping up to meet the challenge of creating the conditions to make zero emission vehicles a viable and compelling choice for consumers”

Ghosn and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen signed the agreement during a meeting Monday night in Nashville.

“The State of Tennessee is proud to join Nissan, TVA and others in promoting use of zero-emission vehicles, including electric vehicles,” Bredesen said. “Our clean-energy future depends on our ability to find real strategies for encouraging Tennesseans to adopt a zero-emission mindset.”

For his part, Bredesen has agreed to explore strategies in which the state might help support the deployment of infrastructure for electric vehicles, including charging stations in public places. Under Bredesen’s leadership, the state and Nissan are joining with the TVA and other partners to embark on a series of conversations that initially will focus on the region’s heavily trafficked Interstate 24 and Interstate 65 corridors.

In addition to the TVA, potential partners include: Mayor Karl Dean and Metro Nashville-Davidson County; local utilities including Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, Murfreesboro Electric Department and Nashville Electric Service; major employers including Central Parking System, Gaylord Entertainment, Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University; and real-estate firms including Southern Land Company, a residential real estate developer, and CBL Properties and Crescent Resources, both commercial property management companies with interests in the Franklin area.

“As the nation’s largest public power supplier, TVA is looking forward to being part of this project to explore the potential of electric vehicles,” said TVA Chairman William B. Sansom. "TVA is working to operate its power system as efficiently as possible and help consumers get the most for their energy dollars.

“Electric vehicles could put electricity to work overnight, or off-peak, when other power needs are lower,” he added, “and that has the potential to be an economic and environmental plus for all of us.”

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has reached agreements for ZEV projects in Israel, Denmark and, just two weeks ago in Portugal.

In Israel and Denmark, the Alliance will be working with Project Better Place, which will create an infrastructure of charging stations. Vehicles for those two projects will be provided by Renault and lithium-ion batteries to power the vehicles will be provided Nissan, through its Automotive Energy Supply Company joint venture.

In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infiniti.com.