Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, will see 25 Nissan electric cars running on its roads in 2011 as part of a nationwide pilot program to promote new energy cars.

To support the lithium-ion powered Nissan LEAFs, more than 250 charging stations would be installed in downtown Wuhan in two years, said Ye Xiangyang, head of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers of Hubei Province, Thursday.

As one of the 13 cities chosen by the Chinese government for a pilot program for new energy vehicles, the Wuhan city government last year signed a deal for electric vehicles and a charging network with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, a partnership involving France's Renault and Japan's Nissan Motor.

The pilot cities, which also include Beijing and Shanghai, are required to provide subsidies for purchases of new-energy cars.

The five-seat LEAF, with a range of 160 kilometers (about 100 miles), will make its debut in Japan, Europe and the U.S. this year.