Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta says the carmaker is ready to turbocharge its turnaround, possibly build a new U.S. plant and adopt a build-to-order mindset for more efficient retail sales.

A new factory would come after Nissan completes its transition from a discount, volume player to a quality, value brand, COO Ashwani Gupta said.

Automakers and battery companies are spending unprecedented sums of money as they build out North America's EV supply chain.

Toyota's announced a $1.29 billion battery plant in Liberty, N.C., will have capacity for 1.2 million battery packs per year, suggesting more local investment will follow.

As the electric vehicle market expands, so is a new North American battery-recycling industry. Its aim: to clean up the battery business and help EVs live up to their promise of reducing global carbon emissions.