Nissan Announces First Lease of Altra EV in New York
6 August 1998
Nissan Announces First Lease of Altra EV in New YorkNEW YORK, Aug. 6 -- Nissan has leased its first Altra EV in New York to The New York Power Authority (NYPA). With the delivery today of an all-new Nissan Altra EV, the NYPA expands its fleet of more than 70 electric test vehicles. The NYPA has placed electric cars, light trucks and other vehicles in service with public and private sector customers and its own fleet. This is the first East Coast evaluation for the Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery-powered Altra EV, Nissan's four-passenger compact van. Introduced at the 1998 Los Angeles Auto Show in January, more than 15 Altra EVs are currently operating in California and Arizona. "This is a significant step forward for Nissan in bringing the Altra EV to the U.S. market," said John Schutz, director of regulatory affairs and general manager (Los Angeles office), Nissan Research and Development, Inc. "Our EV efforts in New York are critical to understanding and refining the Altra EV for a variety of regions and driving conditions." The Altra EV has a driving range of 80 to 100 miles per charge in typical use. As part of the lease agreement with the NYPA, during the next several months the Altra EV will undergo a broad range of performance tests from a fleet management perspective with particular focus on commercial and consumer battery charging solutions. "Governor George Pataki has asked the Power Authority to take a leadership role in developing and testing electric vehicles in New York State," said C.D. 'Rapp' Rappleyea, New York Power Authority Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "These efforts highlight the Pataki Administration's policies - creating a sound environment, using advanced technology and creating clean air for New Yorkers. Testing the Altra EV is an important step in bringing alternative-fuel vehicles to this state." NYPA is the nation's largest state-owned energy supplier, producing about a quarter of New York's electricity. Battery Technology The Altra EV is powered by Li-ion batteries which were jointly developed by Nissan and Sony Corporation. These batteries, now in common use in computers, video cameras and other consumer electronic products, achieve the high level of 90 watt-hours per kilogram as adopted for EV use -- about three times the energy density of conventional lead acid batteries and more than one and a half times that of nickel-metal hydride batteries. In addition, the batteries have an exceptionally long life of approximately 1,200 charge/discharge cycles. The battery charger uses a high-speed inductive charging system. The Altra EV has a permanent magnet synchronous motor and a new 32-bit high-speed RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) motor controller processor. The motor features a compact design; yet, it generates maximum power of 83 horsepower and maximum torque of 117 ft-lbs. In 1996, the Nissan/Sony Li-ion battery received Popular Science magazine's "Best of What's New" award. The editors of Popular Science select 100 out of the thousands of new products, technology developments and scientific achievements they review annually for distinction. In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering, manufacturing, sales, consumer and corporate financing, and industrial and textile equipment. Nissan in North America employs more than 20,000 people in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and generates more than 70,000 jobs through more than 1,500 Nissan and Infiniti dealerships across the continent. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at http://www.nissan-na.com.