By ERIK SCHELZIG
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nissan plant in Tennessee that makes the all-electric Leaf stands to benefit from an announcement this week that eight states will work together to dramatically increase the number of zero-emission cars on the nation's roads. But Tennessee isn't among the states signing the agreement, and Republican leaders say they have no plans to do so.
Meanwhile, a state program offering a $2,500 incentive for electric vehicles purchases expired in January and Gov. Bill Haslam's administration has made no moves to revive it.
Nissan makes the Leaf and its lithium-ion batteries at its sprawling plant in Smyrna, a Nashville suburb. The Japanese automaker sold more than 16,000 Leafs through the first nine months of the year - three times as many as through the same year-ago period.