Nissan's Electric car to hit U.S. market by 2010

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said on Thursday that the company will introduce zero emission cars into the U.S. market by 2010 with a price that makes sense in the market.

As he called on the industry to invest in electric vehicles, Ghosn stated that automakers need the support from interested governments worldwide in helping with the infrastructure and offering incentives to make zero-emission cars acceptable by the consumers.

"Somebody's got to invest massively and bring to the market zero emission cars, and we think we can do it," Ghosn told CNBC in an interview from Tokyo. “We have the batteries and we are at the point where within 2010, cars that we will be putting in the U.S. market will be totally attractive to the consumers.”

For him, the zero-emission cars have to make "economic sense" for the consumer for every country, considering electric cars such as GM's Volt have a reported tag price of $40,000.

"I don’t think the consumer will buy a $40,000 car if he can buy $15,000 or $20,000 comfortable car with oil consumption," Ghosn told the network.

Ghosn forecasted that about 10 percent of the world car market in the next five to ten years will be zero emissions.

Regarding the auto industry, Ghosn said that it is a time of "massive consolidation and reorganization" adding that the industry will be very different at the end of the crisis.

“We have the Fiat, Chrysler deal which is on the table … At the same time, you’re seeing a lot of car manufacturers who are competing against each other now, exchanging a lot of technology and trying to join forces in order to benefit from the economy," he said.