RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE, CATALAN GOVERNMENT AND BARCELONA CITY COUNCIL COLLABORATE TO PROMOTE A ZERO-EMISSION FUTURE
BARCELONA, Spain (Oct. 30, 2010) - The Catalan region of Spain and the Barcelona City Council have joined forces with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to encourage drivers to switch to zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs) in the years ahead.
An Agreement for Cooperation has been signed among the three parties which will see the Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council endorse the use of EVs, while the Alliance will introduce EVs to the region and actively promote their use.
The signatories to the agreement were Jose Montilla, President of the Catalonia Government, Jordi Hereu, Mayor of Barcelona and Manuel de la Guardia, Managing Director of Nissan Iberia.
The agreement cements the already strong relationship between the region, Barcelona and the Alliance: Catalonia is home to Nissan's Spanish industrial operations.
Under the agreement, the Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council will be undertaking to promote the use of EV via incentives for their purchase and use, as well as to organise campaigns to publicise the advantages of zero-emission mobility.
In Catalonia, the Government will promote and expand a publicly accessible charging infrastructure to allow owners to charge their vehicles away from home or their place of work. The targets are to have 175 recharging points in operation by June 2011, 300 by December 2011 and 1,170 by December 2012. In addition, a network of 12 Quick Charging points should be in place before December 2012.
At the same time, the Government will promote private and domestic charging infrastructures offering incentives to users and fleet operators to facilitate the move to EVs.
The Barcelona City Council plans to put in place more than 250 charging points by the first half of 2011. The council will also develop incentives and actions to promote zero emission mobility: these include up to 75% reduction in vehicle circulation tax, free public parking and preferential access to restricted zones.
For its part, Nissan has agreed to start sales of Nissan LEAF during 2011 via a network of EV distributors and service operators. Nissan will also organise and host a ‘Roadshow' event to introduce Nissan LEAF and zero-emission mobility to potential customers.
"The Alliance has developed credible electric vehicles, including Nissan LEAF, which goes on sale here in 2011. But such cars need a recharging infrastructure to work efficiently while incentives are needed to help customers make the switch. Only by working together with forward thinking partners such as the Catalan Government and the Barcelona City Council can a zero-emission future be achieved in our cities," said Nissan Iberia's de la Guardia.
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For more information, contact:
Government of Catalonia Barcelona City Council
(Generalitat de Catalunya) (Ajuntament de Barcelona)
Sonia Sanchez Anna Franco
+34 675788999 +34 690995427
ssanchez@gencat.cat afrancoma@bcn.cat
NISSAN IBERIA, S.A. Renault-Nissan Alliance
Emilio Godes Gilles Gautherot
Communications Director +33-1-76-86-00-03
godes@nissan.es ggautherot@renault.com
+34932907031 http://www.media.renault.com/
The Renault-Nissan Alliance
The Renault-Nissan Alliance, formed in 1999, sold 6,085,058 vehicles in 2009. It is pursuing its objective to rank in the world's top three carmakers in terms of quality, technology and reliability. As part of its zero-emission strategy, the Alliance works with governments, municipal authorities, energy specialists and other partners. Thus far the Alliance has signed more than 50 agreements worldwide aimed at preparing markets and infrastructures for the mass launch of electric vehicles starting in 2011.