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has an objective to localize production whereby it will have the ability to manufacture 85% of its U.S. sales volume in North America by 2015. Echoing that objective: "Build where you sell," says Mark Swenson, Nissan vice president, Production Engineering and Component Facilities, who heads up both vehicle and powertrain production for Nissan in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. He adds that another reason why they've built the battery plant is because, "We want to have this as a core competency." While other OEMs outsource their battery build, Nissan is taking an alternative approach. In addition to knowledge, Swenson says that localization provides other advantages. "The logistics benefts are huge," he says. He adds that it also provides protection against currency fuctuations. The battery was developed by Automotive Energy Supply Corp., a joint venture between Nissan and NEC. According to Swenson, the LEAF build at the vehicle assembly plant is fairly similar to building the cars with internal combustion engines, with the engine decking being replaced by the 80-kW AC synchronous electric motor and the fuel tank installation being replaced by the battery pack. Although there are more high-voltage cables and wires for p Lithium-ion battery packs getting ready to be sent from the Nissan battery plant to the nearby assembly plant, where they'll be installed in LEAFs. The battery installation is analogous to the installation of a fuel tank. Notably, the LEAF is produced on the same line with the Altima and the Maxima, both of which have fuel tanks, unlike the LEAF. the electric vehicle than for a nonEV, Swenson points out that because they had been making an Altima Hybrid (through model year 2011), the workers at the Smyrna plant are familiar working with those electrical components. "The biggest challenge was transporting the LEAF on the line because it is smaller than the Altima and the Maxima," he says. (The Altima is 191.5-in. long; the Maxima is 190.6in. long; the LEAF is 175-in. long.) There are approximately 300 people working in the Nissan battery plant, although it should be noted that it is heavily automated (there is an abundance of Mitsubishi SCARA robots by Gary S. Vasilash > Editor-In-Chief 37