Nissan links subsidies to its e-car launch in China

Shanghai, June 23 (Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor will decide whether to launch an electric car in China soon after getting more details of the country's subsidy program for electric vehicles, President and CEO Carlos Ghosn said today, NIKKEI.com reported.

Ghosn made the remarks at a news conference after the Japanese carmaker's annual shareholders meeting in Yokohama today. He said the Chinese government has yet to say whether Beijing and other cities will be included, but he thinks they will.

The Chinese government is set to begin a pilot program which will offer subsidies buyers of electric cars in Shanghai and a few other cities starting later this year.

Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, will see 25 Nissan electric cars running on its roads in 2011 as part of a nationwide pilot program to promote new energy cars, Xinhua News reported last month.

The first Nissan electric car to be launched in China for this program may be the lithium-ion powered Nissan LEAF, which will make its debut in Japan, Europe and the US this year. The LEAF e-car may be locally made in China later.

In addition to Wuhan city, Nissan has also signed a contract with southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to deliver the company's electric cars to the local government.