Nissan to Use U.S. Battery Plant for Hybrids on Slow Leaf Demand
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Nissan Motor Co. plans to better utilize a Tennessee battery plant making components for the slow-selling Leaf electric car by having it also supply parts for the company’s hybrid vehicles, an executive said.
The Smyrna, Tennessee, factory, funded with a $1.4 billion Energy Department loan, opened late last year to make Leaf’s lithium-ion batteries, motors and other components. U.S. sales of the rechargeable car have missed Nissan’s target for the past two years, staying below 10,000 units. The factory, next to Nissan’s largest U.S. auto-assembly plant, was intended to eventually supply packs and parts for 200,000 vehicles annually.