Nissan Motor Co. (Japan) announced that it intends to launch its first fuel cell car by the end of 2005, unveiling its "Nissan Green Program 2005." The strategy calls for Nissan to participate in a government-backed initiative to test fuel cell vehicles on Japanese roads later this year. The program also calls for 80 percent of passenger cars that Nissan sells in Japan to qualify for ULEV (ultra-low emission vehicle) status by the end of March 2003.
A hybrid research and development taskforce of 100 people has been assembled, according to Nissan Executive Vice President Nobuo Ohkubo, who conceded that "no specific target has been set yet for when we would market such a car or what type of vehicle we should develop."
