2012 Nissan Nv2500 Sv Conversion Van 3-door 261 Hp 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Nissan To Buy Mitsubishi For $2.2B | Autoblog Minute

Nissan confirmed this week that it would take a controlling interest in troubled Japanese automaker Mitsubishi. Nissan will buy 34% of Mitsubishi for $2.2B. Mitsubishi Nissan Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

You'll soon be able to buy an EV in China for just $8,000 after incentives

Renault is eventually looking to sell an electric vehicle in China that will cost as little as $8,000 after government incentives kick in. According to Reuters, Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn offered the prediction at the New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference in Paris this week. Granted, China government incentives are approaching $20,000 per vehicle, as China looks to address its cities' notorious pollution problem, so there's some wiggle room with that price. And of course, the devil is in the details, and Ghosn didn't provide any. Still, such a low-priced EV would likely challenge the dominance of China-based EV makers BYD and Kandi. And the effort would likely be lucrative, given that it has been predicted that China will become the world's largest EV market by the end of the decade. In fact, the publication EV Sales said earlier this year that as many as 300,000 EVs will be sold in China in 2016 (by comparison, Americans bought about 100,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids combined through the first 10 months of the year). BYD is expected to sell 75,000 Tang SUV units this year. With such growth expectations in mind, automakers are focusing on China for potential EV development. Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group said it signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Jianghuai Automobile (JAC) for plug-in vehicle production. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler also stated its goal to broaden plug-in vehicle sales in China. Renault appears to be trying to make an early mark in China. Dongfeng Renault Automobile Co., the Chinese joint venture between Renault and Donfeng, is looking to start testing a self-driving electric vehicle this month. Dongfeng Renault will use a 1.5-mile stretch of road in Beijing's Caidian district for testing purposes. Related Video:

Nissan NV400 becomes Japan's first electric ambulance

Consumer passenger cars aren't the only vehicles undergoing electric transformations. We've seen the introduction of early electric fire trucks, and now Japan is getting its first electric ambulance. It's a Nissan NV400, and it will be used by the Tokyo Fire Department at the Ikebukuro station. Though badged as a Nissan, the NV400 is at its heart a Renault Master Z.E. electric van. The powertrain is the same as the French van with a 33-kilowatt-hour battery (7 kWhs less than the base Nissan Leaf) and a 55-kW motor driving the front wheels. That translates to 74 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. That doesn't sound like much, but in as dense a city as Tokyo, it's not likely the NV400 will be able to reach high speeds at all, even if it had a Hellcat engine. There are a couple of unique additions to the van to enhance its ambulance capability. One is the inclusion of a separate 8-kWh lithium-ion battery that can operate all the equipment on board for long periods of time without eating into the ambulance's range. It can even be used like a generator to provide power to external emergency equipment. Then there's the stretcher, which Nissan vaguely says is electrified to make it easier to use by the medical personnel. We presume the stretcher has an electric motor to make it easier to push around. Since neither the NV400 nor its Renault counterpart is sold here, we're not expecting to see one of these ambulances in the U.S. any time soon. But electric versions of local emergency vehicles seem like a good idea, since range wouldn't be an issue, and the torque would be useful in large vehicles. Ford is readying an electric full-size Transit, which is offered in America in gas versions. Perhaps we could see some electric Ford ambulances in the near future. Related Video: