Nissan Hybrids You'All

NASHVILLE, Tenn. June 17, 2005; Matt Gouras writing for the AP reported that Nissan Motor Co. announced Friday it has selected its assembly plant in Tennessee for production of its first more fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle.

Production of the gas-electric Altima will begin in 2006, said Dan Gaudette, Nissan's senior vice president of North American manufacturing and quality assurance.

Hybrid cars get better mileage than regular gasoline-powered cars because they switch between a gasoline engine and an electric motor.

Nissan will invest $10.4 million for additional equipment and minor modifications to existing assembly lines at the plant in Smyrna, a Nashville suburb, Gaudette said.

About 6,700 existing employees in Smyrna and 1,300 in Decherd plus 2,800 supplier contractors will be trained to build the new line.

"We're looking forward to manufacturing this new, innovative product," Gaudette said in a statement. "It's a testament to the skill of our work force as well as the flexibility of our manufacturing operations, that we can do this given the complexities of already building five different vehicles in Smyrna."

He joined Gov. Phil Bredesen in making the announcement at a trade seminar of parts suppliers.

The plant in Smyrna was built in 1980 as Nissan's first production facility outside Japan. It already is manufacturing traditional gas-engine Altima and Maxima cars, Xterra and Pathfinder sports utility vehicles and Frontier pickups.

Hybrids represented less than 1 percent of the 17 million new vehicles sold in the United States in 2004.

Honda Motor Co. already has hybrid versions of its Civic and Accord sedans on the road, and Toyota Motor Corp. announced in May that it would build its first hybrid, a Camry, in Georgetown, Ky.

Ford Motor Co. has said hybrid versions of its upcoming Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans will be on the road within three years, while General Motors Corp. is planning to introduce a hybrid Chevrolet Malibu in 2008.