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Nissan quietly, quickly installing more CHAdeMO stations

Nissan Leaf electric-vehicle sales continue to grow. And the number of US fast-charging stations that the Leaf can use are growing, well, faster. As it should be. Nissan has made good on its early-2013 vow to help ensure that the number of CHAdeMO stations in the US tripled by mid-2014, with Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Dallas emerging as the most prevalent US markets, Green Car Reports says. In fact, the number of such stations, which can charge a Leaf to 80-percent battery capacity in about a half hour, has jumped to 633 from about 160 as of January 2013. About 180 are at Nissan dealerships, and that number should continue to surge since Nissan plans to aggressively add fast-charging stations through next March. Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman, in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen, confirmed those numbers and added that companies such as NRG, through its eVgo program, are also adding fast chargers throughout the country. The continued increase is good news for drivers of the Mitsubishi i (okay, we admit, there are not that many of them out there) and future drivers of the Kia Soul EV, as both of the models are CHAdeMO-compatible. Granted, the US has nothing on Europe, where the number of CHAdeMO stations has jumped to more than 1,000 from about 600 stations early last year. Nissan expects the continent to have about 1,800 fast-charging stations by year end. Still, the number of US CHAdeMO stations dwarfs the number of Tesla Motors' Supercharger stations, which total about 100.

Nissan unveils ZEOD RC at Nismo HQ in Japan [w/videos]

At Le Mans this past summer, Nissan unveiled the first prototype for the ZEOD RC, a new hybrid racecar which it intends to field at the famous French endurance race next year. Four months have passed since then, totaling eight month of development, and now Nissan has revealed the final form at the headquarters of its Nismo racing division.
The updated Nissan ZEOD RC benefits from a more streamlined shape with optimized cooling and improved aerodynamics. Although billed as an electric vehicle and not a hybrid, the ZEOD RC pairs a 1.6-liter turbo four with a pair of electric motors. Its regenerative braking system is derived from the Leaf RC, and after 11 laps, it's said to be capable of taking another around the Circuit de la Sarthe under electric power alone, making it the first racecar capable of doing so. Nissan has further stated that it hopes the lessons it garners from this project will help in its development of a new LMP1 to challenge for overall victory at Le Mans in the near future.
The ZEOD RC will be on display at Fuji Speedway this weekend during the six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship race there, after which it will continue its development at the hands of former GT1 champion Michael Krumm and gamer-turned-racer Lucas Ordonez, who will be getting it ready for (and possibly drive it at) next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. There it will compete - faster than most GTE sportscars, says Nissan - in the Garage 56 spot that once was awarded to the DeltaWing, which Nissan sponsored and to which the ZEOD RC looks conspicuously similar.

Half of Chinese car buyers won't shop Japanese over hard feelings

The hard feelings between China and Japan is no real secret. Besides modern-day disputes, the two countries have had a long-running enmity that dates back to well before the atrocities of World War II. All things considered, then, it shouldn't be a shock that half of Chinese car buyers wouldn't consider a Japanese car. This survey, conducted by Bernstein Research, found that 51 percent of 40,000 Chinese consumers wouldn't even consider a Japanese car – which, again, isn't really surprising, when you consider stories like this. According to Bernstein, the most troubling thing is the location of these sentiments – smaller, growing cities where the population is going to need sets of wheels. We imagine it wouldn't be as big of an issue in traffic-clogged Shanghai or Beijing, but these small cities are going to become a major focus for automakers. "Nationalistic feelings are an impediment. [Japanese] premium brands will struggle," analyst Max Warburton wrote in a research note, according to The Wall Street Journal. Things will improve for Japanese makes, although China will remain a challenge, with Warburton writing, "the one thing that comes out most clearly is that most Chinese really want a German car. While we expect Japanese brands to continue to recover market share this year, ultimately the market will belong to the Germans." There are a few other insights from the study. According to WSJ, Japanese brands are viewed better than Korean brands, and they're seen as more comfortable than the offerings from Germany or the US, despite the fact that everyone in China apparently wants a German car. This is a tough position for the Japanese makes to be in, as there's really not a lot they can do to win favor with Chinese buyers. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, particularly as the importance of the PRC continues to increase year after year. News Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.Image Credit: Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP / Getty Images Honda Mazda Nissan Toyota Car Buying