U.S. production of the Nissan LEAF was expected to start late in 2012, at the Smyrna, Tennessee plant. Unfortunately, the aftershock of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 might just force the company to push the date back a bit.
"On March 11 every operation stopped, so all the resources that were in place [to begin manufacturing the LEAF in the U.S.] were used to restore Japan," explains Hideaki Watanabe, Head, Global Zero Emission Vehicle Business Unit, Nissan. "All the milestones and studies to localize production in the United States were stopped."1
At this time Watanabe is not projecting how long of a delay we can expect; only that one is possible. He concedes, "The earthquake is putting us in a very difficult situation. But, we are not giving up yet. Is there still potential for delay? There may be. We are assessing [that] right now."2
Nissan's original schedule had Nissan LEAF production commencing in December 2012 and production of the lithium-ion batteries fitted in the Nissan LEAF starting earlier that fall. In the long-term, Nissan's ultimate plans to enable their Smyrna plant with the capacity to produce 15,000 LEAFs per year.
Until that goal comes to fruition, the Japanese automaker will continue to meet U.S. consumer demand by importing the award-winning EV from overseas. They are, in fact, expecting to deliver between 10,000 and 12,000 LEAF models, in this year alone.
Nissan will begin accepting orders for the Nissan LEAF in the states of California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Tennessee, Hawaii, and Texas this summer. All other residents are expected to join this short list by the time production kicks off in Smyrna.
Stay tuned for more Nissan news, coming soon. Contact Jim Johnson Nissan, located at 2200 Scottsville Road Bowling Green, KY 42104, is dedicated to keeping you informed.
Source: 1,2http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110620/CARNEWS/110629997