Nissan's making a big bet on electric vehicles like the Leaf, but it's still pushing hydrogen as one fuel of the future. The Japanese automaker is leasing one -- yes, one -- fuel cell vehicle to Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
The move is part R&D exercise for Nissan and part marketing ploy for Coca-Cola, which will use the zero-emissions vehicle to promote Coke Zero. So clever. Teasing aside, it makes sense because the California Fuel Cell Partnership is based in Sacramento, so the Coca-Cola crew can keep the X-Trail FCV going.
''Sacramento already has the beginning of a hydrogen infrastructure in place and Sacramento Coca-Cola has a track record of utilizing low emissions cars, so the two companies share a green philosophy as well as a common love of things ‘zero’,” Eric Noziere, v.p. of corporate planning for Nissan North America, said in statement.
The X-Trail FCV is based on the X-Trail SUV sold in Mexico, Europe and Japan. It has a compact fuel cell stack and a small lithium-ion battery; Nissan says it's good for a top speed around 95 mph and a range of up to 300 miles. The company has been testing a small fleet of X-Trail fuel cell vehicles and says they've logged nearly 300,000, with one vehicle approaching 100,000.
Nissan's been tinkering with fuel cells since 1996 and has provided vehicles to demonstration fleets in California and Japan. Although CEO Carlos Ghosn is among the loudest proponents of electric vehicles and promises to have the Nissan Leaf EV in showrooms by the end of next year, the company continues developing hybrids and hydrogen. It says it is working on a fuel cell stack 25 percent smaller than the stack in its current hydrogen vehicles. It recently opened a fuel cell lab at the Nissan Technical Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
“The future of sustainable mobility will depend on the simultaneous development of many technologies. Test programs like Sacramento Coca-Cola X-TRAIL FCV lease help us keep our momentum going in this arena, even as we’re getting ready to roll out the new Nissan LEAF electric vehicle in the next year,” Noziere said.
Photo: Nissan
