Nissan, Renault plan to sell electric vehicles in Portugal

Models are scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in 2010.

TOKYO (AP) — Automakers Nissan and Renault will sell electric vehicles in Portugal in 2011 and the allied companies have partnered with the government in an attempt to create a national network of charging stations.

Nissan has said it will sell electric cars globally in 2012, but the technology is still being developed. On Wednesday, Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of the French and Japanese automakers, and Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said they would work together to raise awareness about the vehicles and try to make them easier to fuel.

Nissan has aggressively pursued deals with cities and governments on electric vehicles, as soaring gas prices and worries about global warming make the green technology more appealing.

Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co. and partner Renault SA have previously announced deals with Project Better Place, based in Palo Alto, Calif., which promotes electric vehicles, to mass market electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark in 2011.

While other car manufacturers concentrate on fuel cells and hybrids, Nissan is going all out on electric vehicles, promising to sell them globally in 2012, with the first models arriving in Japan and the U.S. in 2010.

“We are feeling more strongly than ever that we must speed up our development of electric vehicles,” said Nissan Senior Vice President Minoru Shinohara.

Nissan is also in talks with parking lot and railway companies to set up recharging stations, he told The Associated Press at the company’s Tokyo headquarters Wednesday.

The lack of charging stations has made electric cars impractical in the broader market. Skeptics say electric vehicles will stay niche for some time.

Combined with high costs and other technological hurdles, electric vehicles for the broader public are still experimental.

Proponents say tax breaks, preferential highways lanes and other incentives would boost the appeal.

Portugal is a global leader in promoting renewable energy, including wind and solar power.

Nissan has not yet given details of the electric vehicle it has in the works.