Following up on their initial announcement made last summer, Nissan has confirmed their intention to launch a hybrid variant of the Infiniti M sedan by 2010. Falling noticeably behind the other 2/3 of the Japan 3 in terms of green technology, Nissan has yet to produce any in-house developed hybrids and currently relies on Toyota to supply the powertrain for the Nissan Altima Hybrid. According to reports, Nissan’s first foray into the green market will be via the Infiniti M hybrid, which is ultimately intended to serve as direct competition for the likes of the Lexus GS and LS hybrids. Although the details are still slightly sketchy, the Infiniti M’s powertrain is expected to draw inspiration from the “green performance” idea introduced by the Infiniti Essence Concept.

Expected to hit the Japanese market first, sources indicate that the Infiniti M hybrid’s American debut may be postponed until 2012.

Source: BusinessWeek via AutoBlog