Renault-Nissan says electric car battery can be used at home

(AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS)

Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has suggested that an electric car's rechargeable battery could be used in the home long after the vehicle has died.

Ghosn made the claim in Tokyo Thursday ahead of the Japanese launch in the new year of Nissan's Leaf, an all-electric car for the mass market.

He said the battery in the Leaf - expected to last 10 years - would have a lifespan "almost beyond that of the car", referring to the fact that the average duration of use of the car was expected to be shorter.

"You can reuse it after in your home," said Ghosn, who is chief executive of Nissan and its partner Renault, tied through cross-shareholdings.

Ghosn said Nissan had formed a joint venture with trading house Sumitomo. "It will buy used batteries to sell to individuals" to use in their homes for domestic applications.

Nissan, 45 percent of which is owned by Renault, relies heavily on its electric car business, in which it has already invested more than four billion euros (five billion dollars).