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Nissan looking to expand UK plant to build Infiniti Q30

With the Infiniti Q30 concept heading to the Frankfurt Motor Show next month and a future premium compact model heading into production at Nissan's Sunderland UK assembly plant, just connecting the dots tells us this new small Infiniti is headed for UK production. Backing this up, Reuters is reporting that Nissan is looking to expand the Sunderland plant by 25,000 square feet, while Automotive News Europe takes it a step further by almost confirming that the Q30 will be built alongside the Nissan Qashqai and Note.
The reports say that Sunderland is already the UK's biggest automotive plant, but the expansion will make it even larger with production capacity expected to rise from the current 500,000 units built each year to more than 550,000. There is no indication if the expansion will bring more jobs to the plant, which already employs around 6,000 people.

Nissan happy with plug-in vehicles for now, will wait on hydrogen

Anyone who's driven the Nissan Leaf knows that it won't set any land speed records. Still, ask Nissan Vice Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga, and the battery-electric vehicle will be miles ahead of any hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles for the foreseeable future in Nissan's advanced-powertrain plans. Figuratively, of course. Shiga, speaking in Singapore, elaborated on Nissan's interest in developing a production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, and, to put it bluntly, he said the company didn't have much interest, the Japan Times reports. Sure, Nissan reached an agreement with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Ford early last year to work together to speed up fuel-cell-vehicle powertrain development. Like Toyota, Honda and Hyundai, the automakers appear to be following the axiom that hydrogen fuel-cell technology is the best-of-all-worlds option for advanced powertrain because of the combination of zero emissions and conventional-vehicle-like full-tank range. Still, the prohibitively high cost of building hydrogen refueling stations will prevent any substantial adoption anytime soon, Shiga says, hence Nissan's focus on battery-electric vehicles. Nissan sells the all-electric Leaf in about 40 countries, and the model is the best-selling battery-electric vehicle in the world. In the US, Nissan sold 24,411 Leaf vehicles through October, up 35 percent from a year earlier.

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan and Endesa launch V2G project; BMW denies Apple will use i3

Nissan and Endesa will work together to deliver a mass-market vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system. The technology would allow users to charge their vehicle during off-peak hours, and sell energy back to the grid during periods of high demand. The two companies are looking to launch V2G technology in Europe, as well as exploring second-life projects using retired EV batteries for stationary energy storage. V2G allows users to lower the cost of ownership of their EV, and also helps stabilize the grid, particularly in countries that use a large amount of renewable energy. Endesa will demonstrate its V2G technology system in Madrid on March 12. Read more from Nissan. BMW denies reports that Apple will build a car based on the i3. German magazine Auto Motor und Sport said that such a deal was in the works, and that the Apple car could be sold by Apple and serviced by BMW. "We are in regular talks with companies from the IT and telecommunications sector, including Apple, concerning topics like connected vehicles," says BMW. "Developing or building a car is not a topic of these discussions." Anonymous sources say that Apple could have a car available for production in 2020. Read more at Automotive News Europe. BluepointLondon will take over the management of 60 EV charging stations from Transport for London. The 60 chargers are in the boroughs of Southwark and Sutton, and Bluepoint expects to take over management of charging infrastructure in other London boroughs as well. "A better maintained and more extensive charging infrastructure will mean more drivers are able to use electric vehicles and join the early-adopters who are already helping London reach lower emissions level," says BluepointLondon Director Christophe Arnaud. "We are very excited to be playing our part." BluepointLondon aims to manage 6,000 charging points in London by 2018. Read more in the press release below. Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) offers plug-in hybrid conversions for GM light-duty trucks. The PHEV drivetrain offers all the performance of the original model, but reduces consumption and emissions by as much as 80 percent. It offers 30 to 40 miles of all-electric range plus enough energy to act as an idle-free power supply for tools and the like without depleting range. The EDI drivetrain can even be used to charge other EVs. Says EDI's Charlie Travis, "The light duty truck class is an important and high-volume vehicle category for fleet owners.