Nissan charged up on electric cars

TOKYO (AP) - Nissan is rapidly forging deals with cities and governments on electric vehicles as soaring gas prices and worries about global warming make the green technology surprisingly appealing, a senior executive said Wednesday. Masahiko Ohtsuka, president of Automotive Energy Supply Corp., a joint venture between Nissan Motor Co. and Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. , shows their newly produced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, hybrids and fuel cells during an interview with the Associated Press reporter at Nissan head office in Tokyo, Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Otsuka said the plant running next year will be more extensively automated than rival plants. (A... While other car manufacturers are concentrating on fuel cells and hybrids, Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co. is going all out on electric vehicles,... [read full story]