Motoryzacja

With its new headquarters and ambitious electric vehicle plans, Nissan is going green. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan Motor Co., said the numerous environmental features of the new 450,000-square-foot headquarters in Franklin, Tenn. mirror the company's effort to become a leader in zero-emission vehicles by 2012.

Nissan North America broke ground Wednesday for a lithium-ion battery plant as part of a plan to build a five-passenger all-electric car, the Leaf, and create up to 1,300 jobs in Tennessee. The automaker's top executive said it was a no-risk venture. "This is going to be a money-maker," Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said.

Just one week after saying there would be no need for layoffs at its plants in Tennessee Nissan North America Inc. has announced that it is offering buyouts to employees at two of its plants in that state.

SMYRNA, Tenn. -- Nissan North America Inc. is continuing its four-day workweeks at assembly plants in Tennessee and Mississippi indefinitely.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said interest in its all-electric Nissan Leaf is strong and bodes well for what it is billing as the first affordable, mass-market all-electric vehicle to be sold in the U.S. "We think the Leaf is going to be a big hit," Ghosn said Tuesday after speaking to the Detroit Economic Club at Cobo Center.