The electric car, launched in December 2010, had its best sales month in March this year with 2,236 units sold and Nissan is set up to produce as many as 150,000 per year if needed – far more capacity than it yet needs.

The Leaf shares the line with Altimas and Maximas and putting things in perspective, one Leaf makes its way through the line every 15 minutes, or about four per hour, amidst a steady stream of the conventional models.

Last month the Altima sold 37,763 units – edging out the Toyota Camry as the U.S. best-seller by 100 units – so for now and the foreseeable future it is a priority to the Japanese automaker.

But the Leaf and other electric cars to come are expected to increase in importance and sales volume as the tide slowly turns.

To show how the cars are being assembled now, The Tennessean put together this time-lapse video of the manufacturing process involved, and we’re passing it along.

There were several challenges involved in fitting the Leaf into the line including accommodations needed for the fact the Leaf is a smaller car, and its powertrain is altogether different.

The plant is now working three shifts 24 hours per day, and as you can see much of it is automated, reliant on robotic assembly.

The Tennessean

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With two years of Nissan Leaf sales just completed, the company announced the launch of the United States’ largest lithium-ion automotive battery plant in Smyrna, Tenn.

The facility – which is making battery components for the ramp-up of production of the 2013 Nissan Leaf early next year – is one of three of its kind in the world operated by a major automaker. two full years of Leaf sales and Nissan will mark this with a new battery production site located in the U.S.

With two years of Nissan Leaf sales just completed, the company announced the launch of the United States’ largest lithium-ion automotive battery plant in Smyrna, Tenn.

The facility – which is making battery components for the ramp-up of production of the 2013 Nissan Leaf early next year – is one of three of its kind in the world operated by a major automaker.

Since December 2010, Nissan has delivered more than 18,000 Leafs to U.S. customers and more than 46,000 worldwide.

This makes the Leaf the most successful 100-percent electric vehicle in modern history.

“Opening this U.S. plant is an important milestone in Nissan’s overarching strategy to foster sustainable mobility around the world,” said Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co. “Nissan is the zero-emissions vehicle leader, and we are making significant strides as one of the largest producers of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States. The opening of this facility in Tennessee supports our goal of making zero-emissions mobility a reality through American jobs and American manufacturing.”

Nissan says the first batteries produced at the plant have completed the required aging process and are now ready to receive their first charge.

The facility is capable of expanding to produce modules for up to 200,000 batteries annually depending on market demand. Nissan says those batteries can serve as the power source for the all-electric Nissan Leaf and for future vehicles that could be added to the portfolio.

For logistics reasons, the new battery plant is located adjacent to Nissan’s existing vehicle assembly plant in Tennessee, which has been retooled to accommodate production of the Nissan Leaf.

The Nissan Leaf will now be manufactured on the same line as the Altima and the Maxima, allowing volume to be readily be adjusted among the vehicles to meet demand.

Nissan says the 2013 model-year Nissan Leaf will receive a number of technological advancements and feature changes, which will be announced closer to the vehicle’s on-sale date in early 2013.

The recent growth of Nissan’s U.S. manufacturing plants is part of a company-wide strategy to localize core-model production. By 2015, Nissan aims to have 85 percent of all Nissan and Infiniti products that are sold in the United States produced in North America.

Combined, the construction of the battery plant and modification of the Smyrna manufacturing facility represent an investment of up to $1.7 billion when built to full capacity. The project is supported by a U.S. Department of Energy loan for up to $1.4 billion.

Nissan says the loan was issued as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, program authorized by Congress as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The program is designed to accelerate the development of vehicles and technologies that increase U.S. energy independence, create cleaner means of transportation and stimulate the American economy.

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