YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. — Nissan Motor Co. unveiled prototypes Wednesday of electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles it plans to launch in Japan and the United States in business 2010.
The announcement, made at Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, where its lithium-ion battery R&D center is located, comes at a time when competition for environment-friendly vehicles is heating up in Japan. Nissan previously said it will begin mass-marketing electric vehicles globally in business 2012.
The prototype is Nissan's first rear-wheel drive hybrid. The electric vehicle is its second original model since 2000.