The electric vehicle money is flowing everywhere. Following the U.S. DOE's announcement yesterday, the UK has announced it will spend £25 million ($40 million) on a large project to get EVs and "ultra-low carbon vehicles an everyday feature of life on Britain's roads in less than five years." Automotive partners include Ford, MINI, smart, Mitsubishi and Toyota. More information available at the links and in the press releases after the jump.

While EV fans here on AutoblogGreen will undoubtedly be happy to hear this news, there was a line in the Automotive News Europe (subs req'd) write-up of the announcement that doesn't exactly bode well. The automakers brought their vehicles together at the Guildhall in London for the day, which gave a reporter the chance to hear what the i MiEV sounds like: "When the demonstrator started the car and pressed the accelerator, it did not rev nor growl. It sounded like a toy." Really, a toy?


[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd)]

With incentives, Mitsubishi's all-electric i MiEV car will cost about $31,300 when it goes on sale in Japan later this year. That's a pile of cash for the zero-tailpipe emissions car. The good news is that Mitsubishi's president has announced that it plans to cut the price in half (!) by the "mid-2010s," according to Bloomberg. Since the pre-incentive price is in the mid-$40,000s, the price for the i MiEV should be around $21,000 in five or so years. Another surprise: a plug-in hybrid i MiEV will go on sale in 2013. Will it be called the MiPHEV? Thanks to Yanquetino for the tip!


[Source: Bloomberg]

On the heels of the Mitsubishi i MiEV's embarkation on mass manufacture, comes word that the Japanese company has solid plans for more battery-powered models. Although an article in the Nikkei points to five newcomers, their definition of "new" and "electric vehicle" (EV) are somewhat, shall we say, generous. Included amongst their number is counted the slightly larger, right-hand-drive global version of the i MiEV as well as the Peugeot-badged version of that derivative. The other dubious addition is that of a plug-in hybrid sports utility vehicle (SUV) which is likely to be electric at least part of the time, depending on whether it is a parallel (like the Prius) or a series hybrid.

For those who like a sporty two-door ride, another claimed model-to-be is the i Miev Sport Air, the concept version of which we most recently saw updated at the Geneva Motor Show. It sounds and looks great, although no time frame has been given for its introduction. The future line-up is not all about passenger vehicles and so a commercial transport-type EV based on the i MiEV should launch in fiscal 2010. The one unknown all-electric is reportedly planned for fiscal 2011 and may a harbinger of larger models to come. Although said to be based on "full-sized cars," its 1 liter designation will keep it firmly in the compact category. The plan, if successfully executed, should help Mitsubishi reach their announced goal of having 20 percent of their production volume comprised of EVs by 2020.




[Source: Green Car Congress]

In conjunction with the launch of series production of its iMiEV yesterday, Mitsubishi has released a whole batch of new images. There isn't much new information that we haven't heard before but the automaker has confirmed some dates and prices. The first batch of cars will be leased to commercial and government fleets with deliveries starting in July. Retail customers in Japan will have to wait until next April to pick up an example.

While Mitsubishi has presumably met the kind of reliability and durability goals it expects for a production EV, it has apparently not yet cracked that other problem of cost. The iMiEV is priced at ¥4,380,000 ($45,500!) before taxes and incentives. It does qualify for a healthy ¥1,390,000 tax break which brings the cost of the mini car down to a slightly more palatable $31,000. Start saving your pennies now.


[Source: Mitsubishi]

Mitsubishi has increased predicted production rates for the i MiEV but there's still a question if supply will be able to meet demand for the electric jellybean. Company officials briefed us on the global strategy during the New York Auto Show last month, and now we know a few more details about how things will play out in the UK. 50 of the all-electric city cars will be headed to the UK this November, and another 150 are supposed to reach the country by the first half of 2010. According to Register Hardware, the car will cost about as much or a little more in the UK than it will in Japan (where it will sell for $30,000): somewhere between £20,000 and £25,000 (which converts to around $30,323 - $37,905). As previously stated, the price includes the battery pack.


[Source: Register Hardware via All Cars Electric]

With the i-MiEV coming to U.S. (and Europe and Japan), it's no surprise that Mitsubishi would need plenty copies of the diminutive electric car to sell once the global plans really get rolling. We recently heard reports that the Japanese automaker was looking to produce 20,000 units a year, but now Automotive News (subs req'd) is saying that as many as 30,000 i-MiEVs will be produced each year "as early as 2013." Production will grow from 2,000 or so this year to 5,000 in 2010 and keep climbing from there. The problem with increased production is, as we heard in New York recently, the batteries. Still, making more of the electric vehicles could make the car profitable by 2013, Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko said, according to AN. The first production versions of the i-MiEV will be available by the end of 2010.



[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

Mitsubishi's big electric car announcement at the New York Auto Show was that the iMiEV would be coming to the U.S. All we could get out of Mitsubishi reps before the big reveal was that this will happen sometime before 2012. When we got to spend a few minutes with John Koenig, Mitsubishi North America's executive vice president of operations, he said, "We've now announced that for all the global markets, wherever the left hand drive is needed, that's where it's going to be. We just can't say the exact timing when it'll be, but I would say within two years."

With Japan, the UK, and the rest of Europe due to get the iMiEV before the U.S., the question of how many of these cute electric cars Mitsubishi can produce was at the top of our minds. We asked Koenig about the reports that the company would increase its annual production capability to 20,000 units. 20,000 may seem like a too few to some people, but Koenig said that the real numbers are really even smaller. Less than 10,000 iMiEVs will be made per year when Mitsubishi starts up "full production." The limiting factor, as should be no surprise, is the number of battery packs that GS Yuasa can make. Koenig said, "Right now, GS Yuasa is our source of batteries, through the joint venture we've done with them. I think 10,- or 12,000 is the maximum volume at the beginning. We're working on figuring out a way to get greater battery production, but that's going to mean an investment in a plant somewhere to produce more. We haven't made a decision on where that plant would be located, whether that be in Japan or North America or Europe. That's the biggest drawback right now."

Listen to our discussion with Koenig and read more after the jump.

Following today's announcement that the i-MiEV will come to the U.S. in the near future, we took a few minutes to speak with Charlie Allcock, director of economic development at PGE (not PG&E, because, as I found out, saying that would make you look silly). PGE is Mitsubishi's new partner utility for testing electric vehicles in the U.S. (along with SCE). Currently, the two organizations have a Memorandum of Understanding, which means that they're not willing to discuss details until things are finalized (which should happen by June). Still, Allcock was able to tell us a few things about the next step in bringing the electric jellybean to the U.S.

Up first, working out the details of the Mitsubishi MOU. "We want to see what they're like to have in the fleet," Allcock said. "We want to see what the charging is like. We want to see what the impact is on our system and we want to show them to our customers."

PGE is also working with Nisssan-Renault on testing their battery-powered vehicles, and Allcock said he expects this to not be the last of the bunch. "I expect more OEMs to be coming our way, as well as the charging station manufacturers," he said. Part of the reason is a recent Request For Proposal issued by the state of Oregon for soliciting charging equipment for electric vehicles, the first of its kind in the United States. The floodgates are starting to creak open. "I think every OEM is going to have their time when they engage in the 'where?' conversation," Allcock said. When they do, Portland will be ready.

Give a listen (7 min):

At a press conference here in New York in a few minutes, Mitsubishi representatives will officially announce that the i-MiEV electric vehicle - already a hit in test drives and displays the world over - will be coming to the U.S. This move has been hinted at for a long while, but now we know for certain that the electric jellybean, based on the "i" minicar, is coming. Official details are scarce, but company representatives told us ahead of schedule that the car would be available here sometime "before 2012." The problem isn't the technology (a left-hand drive model should go on sale in Europe in 2011 after the right-hand model hits Japan this summer and the UK, maybe in 2010), but guaranteeing a supply of lithium. If GS Yuasa can't produce the batteries, then Mitsubishi can't make the cars. Mitsubishi recently upped production plans in order to make 20,000 units a year. But don't get too attached to the i-MiEV name (which stands for "Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle"); when this car comes to the U.S., it'll get a fresh moniker.

Speaking of the iMiEV; it looks like AutoblogGreen readers know a good thing when they see one. The iMiEV dominated our recent poll of which car should win the World Car of the Year's 'World Green Car' over the Honda FCX Clarity and the Toyota iQ. The judges of the event, though, disagreed and picked the hydrogen fuel cell Clarity as the 2009 winner this morning.

Quick update: Mitsubishi's press release pasted after the jump.



Show photos Copyright ©2009 Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.

Fresh off of successful trips to Monaco and New Zealand, Mitsubishi is getting ready to crank out more copies of the tiny iMiEV. Just how many people will want an electric-powered jellybean? Mitsubishi thinks about 20,000 a year. That's the number of iMiEV vehicles that the company will be able to make each year by fiscal 2011, if unsourced reports in the Japanese newspaper Nikkei are correct. 20,000 is about twice as many as Mitsubishi initially thought they would make each year. 2,000 are on the drawing board for delivery to corporate clients this year. Starting next fall, the lithium-ion battery joint venture between Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa will add another production line at its Shiga prefecture facility and the iMiEV will go on sale in Japan in fiscal 2010.


[Source: Nikkei via Marketwatch, Bloomberg]