Nissan Announces First Lease of Altra EV in New York
6 August 1998
Nissan Announces First Lease of Altra EV in New York NEW 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.
