Renault-Nissan Alliance is gearing up for the launch of a new electric car in China in two years. The new car would cost approximately $8000. The grand announcement was made by company's chief executive Carlos Ghosn at the Web Summit in Lisbon.

Ghosn justified the launch by claiming that China's car market is witnessing unprecedented demand for electric cars amid the government's sustained effort to fight climate change.

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"For me, it is a no-brainer: electric cars are going to be a much bigger part of our industry in the future," Ghosn said. "There is an explosion of demand for the small, cheap electric cars in China. We're going to compete because we want to continue to maintain our leadership in electric cars."

He claimed that the Chinese government is taking a lot of incentive to promote electric cars and the country would soon represent one-third of the global market for electric cars.

Ghosn said that Renault-Nissan Alliance would work along with Chinese automobile company Dongfeng to manufacture the car. Without revealing any details about the new model, he claimed that the price point and time frame have already been decided.

"Our intention is to market a car that you can sell at $8000 without government incentives," Ghosn added.

Nissan, a Japanese multinational automobile company, was one of the first companies to try its luck in the nascent electric car market. The company, however, failed to capitalize on the "first mover advantage" as it could not compete with cheaper models offered by Chinese car manufacturers such as BYD, Zhidou, and SAIC.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is making the necessary efforts to support the electric car industry by offering financial incentives and other non-monetary support. The government believes that electric cars would prove to be a great boon in their great fight against air pollution.

China is widely regarded as one of the most polluted countries in the world. Several automobile companies including Nissan have noted that government's climate change fight will pave the way for user-friendly policies for the electric car industry.  

The Chinese government's efforts are already yielding fruits. This was validated by data furnished by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The data showed that nearly 2,47 000 electric cars were sold in China in 2015, which is four times more than the 2014 sales figures.

Tagsnissan, Renault-Nissan Alliance, Web Summit in Lisbon, Electric Cars in China, China Car Market