Nissan won’t rely on Toyota’s hybrid technology for long, Ghosn says

Nissan will have capacity to build 50,000 hybrid Altimas a year but has indicated it does not expect to sell that many. Although the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid have sold well, Toyota and Honda Motor Co. have scaled back their hybrid production plans. Ford Motor Co. is offering 0 percent financing on its hybrid Ford Escape SUV.

“You have to be prudent when all competitors are cutting production or offering incentives” on their hybrid vehicles, Ghosn said.

“Developing a technology and mass-marketing a technology is something very different,” said Ghosn, who has criticized hybrids because they are sold at a loss.

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