As the production of the 2013 modelyear Nissan LEAF gets underway at the car maker’s manufacturing plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, Nissan becomes the only automaker that manufactures its own electric vehicle batteries, at the largest lithium-ion automotive battery plant in the U.S. This is part of the efforts to improve the electric car’s rather tragic position in the market by reducing the costs and offering different models. If you ask us, the LEAF needs a redesign more than anything else.

In this video Nissan walks you through the production and assembly process at the Smyrna plant.

This week, Nissan will ramp up U.S. assembly of the 2013 model year all-electric LEAF Smyrna, where it will be manufactured alongside the company’s gasoline-powered products. The start of Nissan LEAF assembly in Smyrna comes on the heels of the opening of Nissan’s battery plant in an adjacent facility.