Japanese carmaker Nissan has revealed its strategy for having an all-electric vehicle available in the US from 2010. The first batch of cars will be tested by fleet customers with retail sales slated for 2012. According to Masahiko Tabe, Nissan’s manager of advanced vehicle engineering. So the first vehicles will be tested regionally. Thats with California marked as a target market. Indeed, the state has been earmarked as a proving ground by a number of manufacturers. All looking to launch alternative-fuelled vehicles due to its stringent emissions standards.

My ride in a NIssan Test EV that became the Nissan Leaf! on Flickr.

Nissan showed on Wednesday a spiffy electric car packed with a battery developed by the Japanese automaker to deliver more power than the type common in today’s hybrids.

The electric vehicle, set for sale in 2010, carried a 660 pound 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 Motor officials said.