Nissan, U.S. needs $1.4bn Electric-Car Loan for Smyrna, Tennessee production

Nissan Leaf electric vehicles factory U.S. Nissan, which was awarded the money on a conditional basis in June, plans to remodel a plant in Smyrna to manufacture the Leaf electric vehicles and build an adjacent facility to make the lithium-ion batteries that will power the cars. The plant now makes Altima and Maxima passenger cars, Xterra and Pathfinder SUVs, and the Frontier pickup truck, according to Nissan’s Web site.

150,000 Leaf vehicles and 200,000 battery

The company plans to build 150,000 Leaf vehicles and 200,000 battery packs annually in Smyrna, the Energy Department said. Nissan is set to begin selling the cars in the U.S. in 2010, which initially will be made at facilities in Japan. Production at the Smyrna plant will start in 2012, Becker said.

source: bloomberg.com