Nissan showed a two-seater electric vehicle resembling a go-cart yesterday that isn't ready for sale but spotlights the Japanese auto maker's ambitions to be the leader in zero-emission cars.

Nissan Motor Co is planning to produce 250,000 electric vehicles a year, starting with the Leaf electric car set for delivery in Japan and the US in December, and next year in Europe.

Its alliance partner Renault SA of France is planning to produce another 250,000 electric vehicles a year.

The two companies together will produce 500,000 batteries for EVs a year, said Nissan, which makes batteries with Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp.

"We don't want EVs to be a niche product," Corporate Vice President Hideaki Watanabe said.

He said Nissan boasts 18 years of development experience in lithium-ion batteries, which will power the Leaf, and the company developed its first electric vehicle in 1947. Lithium-ion batteries are common in devices like laptops but will be relatively new for autos.

Watanabe then zipped around - smoothly and silently as is characteristic of electric vehicles - Nissan's showroom in the tiny electric vehicle called "Nissan New Mobility CONCEPT."

It has a range of a 100 kilometers and maximum speed of 75 kilometers per hour. The EV system was developed by Renault, but the car's design was by Nissan.

Watanabe did not give a price for the concept car. He said uses were still being studied, such as amusement parks and city's green mobility projects.

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