Nissan�s battery production in Tennessee could exceed $1 billion

Andy Palmer, senior vice president and head of product planning at Nissan, says that investments to produce batteries at its Tennessee plant in the U.S. could exceed $1 billion, accounting for the bulk of Nissan’s government loan it was granted last month. Nissan received a total of $1.6 billion to modify its Smyrna, Tennessee plant to produce zero-emission electric vehicles and lithium-ion battery packs to power them. Palmer said that the site will have

three “modules,” equivalent to the production of 54,000 batteries. Each module will cost $350 million to produce. Nissan also plans to retool an existing line at its Smyrna plant to produce electric-vehicles in 2012. It is hoping to produce 15,000 electric-vehicles there a year. First Drive: Nissan Cube EV Prototype : – By: Omar Rana Source: Reuters

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Nissan�s battery production in Tennessee could exceed $1 billion