The days of petroleum-driven cars may be numbered – or so goes the message, given the pace of inventions and innovations in the automobile sector. To go with is what could technically be called the “End of Detroit” as a dominating force in the automobile industry. As the fall of the Big Three automobile organizations of Detroit showed, Ford, Chrysler and GM got carried away with the seemingly unending American appetite for huge gas-guzzlers with high road clearance and loads of space. In their search for speed and style, the American automobile industry with a long and fabulous history ceded to the sleeker, smarter and smaller invaders from the other continent, Asia.

Automobile Asia: Now, there is no looking back for the Asian stalwarts, right from Toyota, Honda, Suzuki and notably, Nissan. Toyota Prius made heads turn with its stunning style, spacious looks and in its ability to save gas – the hybrid car turned out to have a huge fan following in the US. And the success of Toyota Prius only marked the beginning. Japanese cars wanted to improve on that to come up with a workable business model that could manufacture pure – not just hybrid – electric cars that would shun gas altogether. And Nissan hit the nail right on the head.

Nissan “Leaf”: Nissan has showcased its stunning “Leaf” electric car which is nothing like a typical electric car of today. Nissan Leaf has already found a place in Time Magazine’s Top 50 Inventions of 2009. The car could zip past at speeds greater than 150 kmph, something phenomenal when it comes to pure electric cars.

Nissan’s Strategy: What is spectacular about the invention is that Nissan didn’t just stop with its invention – it went ahead with creating a sound business model that would lure buyers with its price tag. Nissan plans to supply Lithium Ion batteries that it manufactures as part of the Automotive Energy Supply Corp that it set up with NEC Corp, to rivals. The idea is two-fold – while an increase in volumes would lead to economies of scale and hence to sharp drop in prices of its electric cars that use the battery, Nissan also hopes to capitalize on its first-mover advantage by being a volume manufacturer in the category and thereby setting global standardization for the batteries.

This, perhaps, is the way to go for the Big Three of Detroit as well – a page out of the Nissan Leaf’s books would do the American Automobile industry a world of good.