Japanese car makers out to electrify Tokyo show

The battery will be leased separately for a monthly charge that, together with the electricity cost, will be cheaper than gasoline, it says.

The Leaf will not be the first electric car on the market. Mitsubishi Motors recently started selling its "i MiEV" minicar. But at 4.6 million yen (US$50,600 dollars), for now it is aimed at corporate and government clients.

Subaru meanwhile launched the Plug-in STELLA for about 4.73 million yen but plans to deliver just 170 of the vehicles between late July and next March.

Some experts are skeptical about whether electric cars can enter the mainstream within the next decade given the lack of recharging stations and the high production costs, particularly in the current economic climate.

Mass recalls of lithium-ion batteries for laptop computers by some makers due to fears of overheating have also stirred safety concerns.

"If you look at the next four or five years, especially for electric cars, the business case is pretty challenging," said Ashvin Chotai, the London-based managing director of Intelligence Automotive Asia, a consultancy firm. Even by 2020, "it's hard to see how penetration levels of electric cars will increase significantly. There's still a lot of challenges in terms of concerns about the safety of the lithium-ion batteries and reducing costs."

But others see a brighter future for electric cars given growing concerns about global warming, the prospect of a decline in production costs and the fact that many governments are offering subsidies for zero-emission vehicles.

If the price for consumers of an electric car declines below two million yen (US$22,000), "then demand will grow dramatically," said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory.

"The biggest cost comes from the rechargeable batteries. I expect the price will decline at a relatively high speed," said Mizuno, who also thinks that safety issues surrounding lithium-ion batteries have now been resolved.

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