Gas may be plunging well below the $2-per-gallon mark, but the auto industry’s move to greener and more fuel-efficient technology appears to be gaining momentum, a transformation driven home at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

A wide variety of hybrids, plug-ins and electric vehicles were on display during the first big auto show of the 2009 model-year, while some automakers, like Japan’s Nissan, outlined their vision for a green future.

“The end game is zero emissions,” said Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Euro-Asian Renault/Nissan alliance, and the keynote speaker at this year’s L.A. show.

Nissan has been rolling out a series of electric vehicle -- or EV -- pilot programs in places such as Israel, Denmark and Portugal. But it has far greater ambitions for the world’s biggest car market, the United States, where it plans to introduce an all-new EV in 2010.

Initially, the as-yet-top-secret vehicle will be sold in limited numbers to fleet customers in Oregon. The state government just agreed to provide a $5,000 tax credit to EV buyers. But in 2012, Nissan plans to offer the vehicle – most likely a battery-powered sedan, according to sources – to regular consumers.

At launch, its range is likely to be limited, perhaps 100 miles on a charge, but Ghosn suggested Nissan’s goal is double, even triple that, in coming years, with improvements in battery technology.

And that leads to an intriguing twist to the way automakers normally market their products. Nissan will sell the EV itself at a price comparable to a conventionally powered vehicle with similar size and features. But the battery inside will be leased, so a motorist would be able to swap it out when better technology comes along. Expect the battery lease to go for roughly the same price you’d pay, each month, for gasoline.

Coming up with new approaches like this will be critical to convincing consumers there’s a reason to go electric.

As bullish as anyone in the industry about EVs, Ghosn admits there’s no way of knowing if the market will accept the technology, but his preliminary planning predicts that by 2020, 10 percent of the new vehicles sold worldwide – about 7 million a year – will be battery-powered.

Paul A. Eisenstein is an award-winning journalist who has spent more than 30 years covering the global auto industry. His work appears in a wide range of publications worldwide, and he is a frequent broadcast commentator on subjects automotive.


NISSAN’S PLAN FOR U.S. MARKET

- Nissan will launch an all-new EV in 2010, first to fleet buyers, then in 2012 to consumers.

- The project will debut in Oregon, which has agreed to give EV buyers a $5,000 tax credit.

- Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn forecasts battery cars will account for 10 percent of all new vehicles – 7 million annually – by 2020.