London  - The U. S. electric car manufacturer Tesla has announced that it will offer its electric sports car in Europe by next year.

The two-door zero emission vehicle would be sold from late 2009 in Germany, France and the Netherlands at a price of about 100,000 euros (155,000 dollars), the Financial Times reports.

Production of the 2008 model began in March and is already sold out in the United States.

Tesla is now taking reservations for the 2009 model year, the Californian-based company announced. The car is being billed as the world's first production electric sports car.

The car has a powerful electric motor which gets its power from lithium-ion batteries. These take around three-and-a half hours to fully charge and are kept topped up while driving with energy gained from regenerative braking.

The two-seater has been developed together with Lotus Engineering from Britain. (dpa)