(August 3, 2009) Nissan introduced its all-electric vehicle to the public in Yokohama, Japan, this past weekend indicating it will be sold to the public worldwide including North America as early as 2012.

"This is not a niche car," said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. "We didn't make it unusual looking. It had to be a real car."

Nissan has promised that the Leaf, which goes into mass-production as a global model, will be about the same price as a gas-engine car such as the $15,000 Tiida, which sells in the United States as the Versa.

Nissan plans on putting the electric car into limited fleet production in about a year.

Nissan, which has an alliance with Renault of France, has fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda in gas-electric hybrids that have become increasingly popular recently.

In current configuration, the battery-electric vehicle is expected to deliver about 100 miles per charge, though company insiders say that their mid to long-term goal is to bring range up to 200, and perhaps even 250 miles as lithium-ion battery technology continues to improve. To achieve that goal will ultimately require new batteries that are both cheaper, smaller, lighter and more powerful than today’s technology.  But there are more immediate needs.  Among other things, motorists will require a network of charging stations.

Leaf will be equipped with a special in-car communications system that will continually display the vehicle’s “reachable area,” the destinations it can make without running out of energy.  The system also will connect to a global data center that will advise a driver of the nearest charging stations.

Other manufacturers are also racing to produce battery cars.  In June, Mitsubishi launched production of its new i-MiEV, though the smaller maker warned that the cost of the technology will likely put it out of the reach of the typical consumer.  A number of new entrants to the auto industry are also pushing battery power, including Silicon Valley-based Tesla Motors.  The start-ups first vehicle, the Roadster, costs more than $100,000, but Tesla hopes it can cut that by a third or more when it debuts a sedan model, several years from now.