NISSAN yesterday showed off a spiffy electric car packed with a battery developed by the Japanese car maker to deliver more power than the type common in today's hybrids.

The electric vehicle, set for sale in 2010, carried a 300-kilogram lithium-ion battery and still zipped around a Nissan Motor Co test course, accelerating more quickly than comparable gas-engine cars.

It was extremely quiet, absent of engine noise ?? a trademark of electric vehicles. Details such as cruising range are yet to be determined, Nissan officials said.

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

Car makers 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, California, to mass market electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark in 2011.

Nissan's electric vehicle, shown yesterday, will go on sale in Japan and the United States in 2010 and globally by 2012.

But Nissan faces competition from other car makers, including General Motors and Ford, that have developed electric vehicles.

Also yesterday, Japanese rival Mitsubishi, working with Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa Corp, said it was building a plant in Japan to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries for its electric vehicle, planned for rental next year and sale the following year.

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