Details such as cruising range are yet to be determined, Nissan officials said.

 

Having fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in hybrids, Nissan has made the electric vehicle the pillar of its green strategy.

 

Automakers around the world are trying to develop ecological products amid growing concerns about soaring gas prices and global warming. Electric vehicles are zero-emission.

 

Last month, Tokyo-based Nissan, with French partner Renault SA, announced a partnership with the Portuguese government to sell electric vehicles there in 2011. Separately, Nissan has announced deals with Project Better Place, based in Palo Alto, Calif., to mass market electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark in 2011.

 

Nissan's electric vehicle, shown Wednesday, is promised to go on sale in Japan and the United States in 2010 and globally by 2012.

 

But Nissan faces competition from other automakers, including General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., which have developed electric vehicles.

 

Nissan also offered test drives of its hybrid. Hybrids deliver better mileage than comparable gas-engine vehicles by switching between an engine and an electric motor.

 

Nissan now purchases its hybrid system from Toyota for the Altima hybrid sold in the U.S., but is promising vehicles with its own system by 2010.