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Bhutan asks Nissan, Mitsubishi for help with massive EV-only plan

Originally, the somewhat modest plan was to introduce 2,000 electric vehicles to the capital of Bhutan. Then things got bigger when Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn paid the country a visit and the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, said his country, "will commit to a program to achieve zero emissions as a nation by a certain target date." Now we're approaching "holy huge" territory. Last week, Tobgay visited Japan to ask Nissan and Mitsubishi for help in possibly replacing every combustion vehicle with an all-electric option. "Gasoline is expensive and unfriendly to the environment." – Bhutan's Prime Minister At the very least, Bhutan wants to make more eco-friendly vehicles available. Tobgay told AsiaNews that, "Gasoline is expensive and unfriendly to the environment. Sustainable transportation will bring citizens happiness," which is something that a country that measures its Gross National Happiness is eager to track. Switching to electric vehicles makes complete sense in Bhutan, since the mountainous Asian nation produces more renewable hydro-electricity than it can use. Ninety-five percent of the zero-emission energy is exported to India, and Bhutan uses the profits to buy fuel from India to then power its vehicles. You can probably figure out for yourself how there's a simpler way to do this. News Source: AsiaNews.it Green Mitsubishi Nissan Green Culture Electric

Nissan's NY taxi deal faces court obstacles

Nissan scored a big win for itself when the NV200 was named New York City's Taxi of Tomorrow, but the compact van has been under attack ever since. The latest setback for Nissan comes from the New York Supreme Court, which has reportedly ruled the deal between NYC and Nissan is "null, void and unenforceable" since the NV200 is not a hybrid - one of the key parts of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Taxi of Tomorrow plan.
The NV200 Taxi launches this October. Although Nissan says it is bringing a hybrid version of the van to market in 2015, the New York Supreme Court ruled against Nissan, which opens the door for taxi companies in NYC to drive non-Nissan hybrid vehicles. Despite this setback, it doesn't sound like this ruling will affect the NV200 becoming the official taxi of NYC as a part of the 10-year contract worth an estimated $1 billion.

Tesla exec calls rival EVs 'little more than appliances'

Tesla's Vice President of Business Development Diarmuid O'Connell called the company's competition "little more than appliances" at the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI yesterday. "In essence, [mainstream automakers] delivered little more than appliances," O' Connell said. "Now, appliances are useful. But they tend to be white. They tend to be unemotional." According to Automotive News, O'Connell's main critique is that vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 don't deliver enough performance or range to draw the attention of consumers outside of a small group. The solution, in O'Connell's mind, is more power, more range, more excitement and a lower price – that last point is particularly rich coming from an automaker whose cheapest current offering, the Model S 60, costs $66,000 – although the cheaper Model 3 is on the horizon, way out there, somewhere. But some EVs are better than none, O'Connell added. "On balance, I'm happier that [traditional automakers are] doing these cars than not," O'Connell said. "I just wish they would do them better and faster." O'Connell also used his appearance at the Management Briefing Seminars to launch a volley at the Michigan legislature, blaming its opposition to Tesla's direct-sales model for the lack of available EVs in the Wolverine State. "I think if the Michigan Legislature would allow Tesla to sell cars in Michigan, we could probably address [the lack of available electric cars]," O'Connell said. Related Video: