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Nissan announced today that the company’s first hybrid system will be mounted mainly on its high-end Infiniti and other pricier rear-wheel-drive cars to make the gasoline-electric vehicles a profitable business. The first Nissan hybrid model will be launched by 2010.

"It’s easier to absorb the cost of the system with more expensive cars," Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita told Reuters in an interview at the North American International Auto Show.

He added that fuel economy improvements from a hybrid rear-wheel-drive car would be pronounced because those cars generally get worse mileage than front-wheel-drive cars.