Japan: Mitsubishi brings i MiEV electric car launch forward to 2009
By: Glenn Brooks, Wednesday, August 27, 2008, AutomotiveWorld.com
The president of Mitsubishi Motors, Osamu Masuko, has announced that the firm will produce 2,000 i MiEV electric cars in 2009.
This is not only the first time that the vehicle volume has been confirmed, but it also means the car will be launched in Japan almost a year earlier than previously publicly stated.
Masuko also notes in his statement that Mitsubishi intends to build 4,000 units of the car in 2010 with mass production to follow this. No production facility has been named. The i MiEV is closely based on the three-year old i minicar. That model is made at the OEM's Okazaki plant.
While the first vehicles are expected to cost buyers close to ¥3m (US$27,530), mass production is expected to lead to lower prices from 2010.
In further news, the group says it will begin trials of prototypes on European roads from this October. The OEM has made no secret of the fact that it intends to market the production car outside Japan.
In the concept which debuted at the Tokyo motor show in October 2007 (pictured), a 64hp (48kW) electric motor, made by Meiden, was in the rear of the car. The lithium ion batteries, developed by Mitsubishi and Yuasa, were under the floor. The i MiEV concept can travel about 100 miles (160km) on a single charge, Mitsubishi claims.
Published on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Free e-newsletters
Our free E-Newsletter service is an excellent way of staying up to date with news and features from around the global auto industry.
