In between meetings at the Hub, Mr. Ghosn spoke with PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi about the Nissan LEAF and Renault Fluence Z.E. As they stood staring at the Leaf charging outside, she asked what battery it uses. Mr. Ghosn's response: "Ours." He described the cooperation that Nissan has in battery development with NEC, the joint venture called AESC. She said she'll be back for a test drive tomorrow.
Earlier in the day, another influential saw the blue electric car and decided to buy one on site.
The LEAF and Fluence Z.E seem to have that effect. To be sure, it inspires curiosity. People stop along Promenade, look through the windows as if looking inside the cabin for the thing that makes it work. They lift the hood; they put their hand on the handle of the charger as though to practice, to compare the feeling of what it's like to feel electricity running into the car instead of gasoline. Mr. Ghosn sometimes refers to the LEAF as the "new normal car". What better place to share that new norm than at Davos this year, with the new reality of zero emissions.