NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to sell an electric car in the United States, according to a report in an industry newspaper.

A detailed announcement about the planned car is expected soon, Automotive News reported Monday.

No date has been set for the car's introduction, according to the report

No major automaker currently sells a purely electric-powered car that can be used on public roadways in the United States.

Mitsubishi displayed an all-wheel-drive gasoline-electric hybrid car at the Detroit Auto Show in January, but the company does not currently sell a hybrid car.

Mitsubishi has been testing hybrid and electric cars in Japan, however, according to Automotive News.

Mitsubishi's plans call for the electric car to be launched first in Japan, according to the newspaper. A hybrid version could also be made available.

"From an environmental standpoint, we believe the electric car is the way to go because it has zero emissions," Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko said at a dealer meeting in Las Vegas, according to Automotive News. "Fuel cell technology is still off in the future. Diesels are big in Europe but not in Japan and the U.S."

Several major car companies, including General Motors (Charts), Ford (Charts) and Toyota, produced and sold electric cars in small numbers, mostly in California, in the early 1990s when environmental rules there promoted zero-emission vehicles. Several small companies now make electric cars in limited numbers.

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