12/07/2011 16:11
Renault and Nissan have teamed up to take their latest green cars to an event that asks "how can life be better lived?"
TEDGlobal has been held every year since 1984 and sees economists, philosophers, scientists, artists and activists congregate to discuss "ideas worth spreading".
The occasion has become a magnet for "early adopters" in industrial circles as well as academia, who come to find out about the latest innovations in arenas including technology and design.
Yesterday (July 11th), the five-day event kicked off in Edinburgh and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, TEDGlobal's automotive partner, is there showcasing the carmakers' newest carbon-efficient creations.
Almost 1,000 delegates at the festival will have the chance to get behind the wheel of a Nissan LEAF or Renault Fluence ZE this week.
The Renault Twizy and Nissan LEAF - European and World Car of the Year 2011 - will also be on display at Edinburgh's International Conference Centre.
Hideaki Watanabe, corporate vice-president of the Zero Emission Business Unit at Nissan and managing director of zero emission business at the Renault-Nissan Alliance, said: "The electric vehicles from the Alliance are the auto industry's hope for a future where we are no longer dependent on a single, non-renewable form of energy."
One village that has put its faith into the Nissan LEAF is Ashton Hayes in Cheshire, which has bought one of the vehicles to be shared by community members aged 18 or over.
Posted by Louise Clark