Nissan Motor plans to launch its lithium ion battery-driven vehicles in the Chinese market in 2011, according to Yasuaki Hashimoto, president of Nissan (China) Investment. This is one year after their planned release in the US and Japan.

In April, the Renault-Nissan alliance signed an agreement for promoting the use of electric vehicles with China’s auto industry regulator. Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, will be the first pilot city in Renault-Nissan’s zero-emission vehicle programme.

Consumers in Wuhan, home to the Dongfeng Nissan joint venture that will make the Nissan electric cars, are likely to be the first in China to use these vehicles, China Youth Daily said. The cars will have a maximum speed of 140 kph, making them suitable to be driven on expressways.