The Mitsubishi electric car is perhaps best known as the i Miev model. The i Miev has been in development for years. The car is now in limited production for testing and review. Several industry groups and agencies are testing the vehicles.
Specifications
The iMiev specifications are competitive for a vehicle of its size, except for perhaps storage. The battery pack on the i Miev seems undersized at 16 kWh storage capacity. The BYD e6 for example lists a 72 kWh pack, the Mini-e states 35 kWh, and the Nissan Leaf 24 KWh.
For information, 16 kWh is the energy equivalent of less than ½ gallon of gasoline…about
1.8 quarts or so. This isn’t much considering that the Mitsubishi electric car weighs around 2,150 lbs.
Mitsubishi Minicab iMiev - Target is 4,000
sales by mid 2012.
Mitsubishi iMiev
Agency Testing and Reviews
The i Miev has been extensively tested by Japanese agencies, and this Mitsubishi electric car is for sale in Japan. At last count, there were 1,000 or so driving around there.
The i Miev is well enough built. It would be a practical car for an in-town commute with short hops on the expressway. The price is a bit high, in our opinion.
Marketing the i-Miev
The original production goal of 5,000 cars for 2010 was increased to 8,500 and recently to 9,000 based on demand for the cars. The longer term goal of 20,000 cars by 2013 has been upped to 30,000.
Mitsubishi has recognized the price problem and has dropped the price on the entry level "M" version to about $32,000 US, or 2.6 million Yen. The price drop comes with a reduced battery pack and range from 160 km/100miles to 120 km/120 miles.
One Fast iMiev
Mitsubishi sponsors a hill climbing iMiev: A one seat version of the popular EV will ascent to some 14,110 feet in elevation at as part of the 2012 Pikes Peak, Colorado challenge. The car claims to use the same components as the production iMiev, but will be driven by a veteran Mitsubishi race car driver..
Sales Figures and new Models
Worldwide, some 17,000 iMiev EVs have been sold near the close of 2011. This includes those marketed under the PSA Peugeot - Citroen badge.
Mitsubishi is also marketing an E-Van called the Minicab iMiev. The minicab will be for sale in Japan, with sales projected to be some 4,000 units by mid 2012.
The van comes in two models, 100 km (62 mile) and 150 km (93 mile) versions. They retail for
¥2,400,000 to ¥2,971,000 ($30,870 to $38,210 USD), ¥1,730,000 and ¥2,020,000 ($22,260 and $25,990 USD) after Govt. subsidies.
The Outlander EV
Mitsubishi plans to market a battery electric version of the popular Outlander crossover next year. Not many details yet, but the new rig will be based on "existing Mitsubishi EV technology." The new EV is listed by
some as the worlds first 4-wheel drive PHEV.
Mitsubishi Outlander - Soon to be offered will be a BEV 4WD version
