Subaru's electric kei car, the Stella plug-in, is about to be introduced at the G8 summit in Hokkaido. When the initial release went out, it was said that five cars would be built, four of which would shuttle various dignitaries around the summit while the last one would sit on display. According to a report on Just-Auto (sub. req'd), though, there is yet another vehicle which will be delivered to Japan Post. You may recall that the Japanese mail delivery service had recently announced that it will switch over to a fully electric fleet as soon as possible. Though the Stella uses the same powertrain as the R1e, it houses it in a much more practical body style. Reading between the lines a little bit, which doesn't always prove all that accurate... but whatever, we wonder if Subaru specifically had the mail carrier in mind when it decided to show off this particular electric vehicle.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsuibshi i MiEV

News comes from the Japan Post Service Co, which is the mail delivery unit of Japan Post Group, that the mail carrier plans a switch to completely electric vehicles as soon as possible. This announcement comes as record-high gasoline prices sweep the world. Major Japanese automakers have big plans regarding all-electric cars, with manufacturers such as Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi all readying introductions of their first models in 2010. Stocks of each of these companies soared with the news from the Post, along with battery makers which have relationships with those auto companies. Mitsubishi and its partner Yuasa appear to have benefited the most from the announcement, with shares of those companies jumping a surprisingly strong 3.7 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

In an effort to start saving money on gas right away, the Post also suggested that it will start testing hybrid vehicles, which could fill in until the fully electric vehicles and the associated necessary infrastructure are ready.

[Source: Bloomberg, Reuters]