They cannot launch it without proper testing .They are in the process of doing R & D.
The race to develop the first mass production electric car stepped up a notch this week after Nissan announced it would sell an electric car in the US and Japan by 2010, and Volkswagen reportedly signed a major deal with Japan's Sanyo Electric to jointly develop lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrid and electric cars.
Mitsubishi is planning to "bring its i MiEV electric vehicle to mature world markets," which means Japan, North-America and Europe according to the company presentation. Emphasis will be put on Japan, as usual, but for once it won't be the only market that gets a cool new technology.

Well, electric cars are still under research process so as soon as research ends, the manufacturers will launch the electric cars in the market.