The Wall Street Journal talked to Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko ahead of this week's Moscow Motor Show about some of the company's recovery, its involvement in the Russian market and its plans for marketing electric vehicles. Masuko reiterated earlier announcements that the the iMiEV would go on sale in Japan next summer at a price of about $27,400. Once production ramps up to higher levels Mitsubishi hopes to drive the price down under $20,000. Initially the iMiEV will be in right hand drive only with a left hand drive model coming in 2010. The company hasn't decided on U.S. sales yet. That will depend on the results of field tests with California utilities beginning late this year. Mitsubishi has questions about the U.S. infrastructure and whether this particular car is suitable for use in the U.S. Initial volumes will be low with about 2,000 the first year and doubling each year for the next couple of years. Mitsubishi has already announced plans to increase the planned production volumes of batteries from its joint venture with Yuasa. According to Masuko, the company has no plans to build hybrids but will look at plug-in hybrids down the road. Check out the video after the jump. Thanks to Mark for the tip!


[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsuibshi i MiEV (22 photos)

I drive a Ford Mustang GT; I'm Autoblog's resident HUMMER aficionado; and I think my favorite car in New York this year is a Japanese-market all-electric kei car. What is going on?

My dirty little secret (if you could even call it that) is that I'm also very much into kei cars. Often endearingly wacky-looking, the little city cars are packaging marvels, boasting roomy interiors despite their compact footprints -- and I love them. This year, the New York Auto Show is home to keis (the Mitsubishi i and Subaru R1e) as well as another JDM favorite, the Nissan Cube. What's interesting is that each one is on display as an all-electric vehicle. What was especially interesting to me is that Mitsubishi's electric i MiEV (it's pronounced "eye-meev", incidentally) was actually available for journalists to drive. So I drove it. Read on and watch video after the jump.



All "live" photos Copyright © 2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.

As you can see from the list of related stories below, the Mitsubishi "i" can generate some rumors and good press. I'd say the quirky, stubby design and the all-electric research version are two obvious reasons it's got a following (the "i" has won many awards in Japan, and 37,000 were sold there last year). But Mitsubishi isn't too certain the Brits will take to the "i" in the same numbers when it goes on sale in the UK on July 1st; only 300 of the little buggers will available at the outset, for the launch price of £8,999. Mitsubishi is saying that deposits have already been placed on some the diminutive vehicle. Oh, and the "i" is so roomy, all the people in the photo there just got out of the car.



Related:

• Mitsubishi "i" named the 2007 Japanese car of the year
• Mitsubishi abandons in-wheel motors for electric car, still no plans to bring it to the U.S.
• Mitsubishi Motors builds new research EV, "i MiEV" for joint research with power companies
• Mitsubishi "i" car coming to US market?
• Mitsubishi "i" wins Good Design Gold Prize

[Source: Mistubishi]

The Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization has given the lamely-named Good Design Gold Prize to the Mitsubishi "i". The "i", launched last January in Japan, is designed by Mitsubishi as an "innovative Premium Small Car". The letter car is a four seater powered by a turbocharged 660cc three-cylinder.

Similar to the Smart ForTwo the whole power-train is mounted in the back between the rear wheels and even looks rather like a four dour, four seat Smart. It's rated at 42mpg with a 4 speed automatic. It's not clear what exactly is so innovative about the "i" other than the name, but a car like this would certainly be a good car to have in crowded city like New York or Toronto. On the other hand, cities like that typically have good mass transit which can be a lot less hassle than finding a parking space for even a car as diminutive as the 3.4m (11.1ft) long "i". The styling is nice enough for such a small car, but mechanically there doesn't appear to be much here that hasn't been done before. Maybe that's why it only got a "Good" design prize instead of a "Great" design. See the Mitsubishi press release after the jump.

[Source: Mitsubishi]