Sales of the Nissan Leaf have been trending upwards lately as the company continues to expand the launch of the highly-anticipated electric vehicle. Now the Japanese automaker is making the car available in several more states.

Beginning on Monday, customers with a Leaf pre-order will be able to pick up their car from dealers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington D.C. and Virginia. Once all the pre-orders are taken care of, Nissan will start to take additional orders for the vehicle.

"Many enthusiastic consumers have eagerly anticipated ordering a Nissan Leaf of their own, and now we can make zero-emissions mobility a reality in more markets," said Brian Carolin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan.

This is just one phase of Nissan's continued expansion of the Leaf. The goal is to eventually expand to all states by the end of the year, with the next targets for expansion being New England and the Midwest.

The latest version of the Leaf is the 2012 model, which includes cold weather features and the ability to charge to 80 percent in less than half-an-hour through the use of DC charging stations.