| New Electric Car | Mitsubishi i-MiEV |
Mitsubishi hopes to make the most of its i city car's environmental credentials with an electric version. The car will called i-MiEV and five will be brought to the UK in 2008 for assessment by Mitsubishi's dealers, customers and the media.
The i-MiEV will reportedly have a top speed of 80mph and a range of 100 miles on a full charge. Mitsubishi says the car is likely to cost around £15,000 when it goes on sale, but the high price will be offset by low running costs that should see the car cover 10,000 for just £50-worth of electricity.
Sales of the i-MiEV are not expected to start until 2011, but one customer is so keen he's placed a £2,000 deposit to be first in the queue. Mitsubishi managing director Jim Tyrell said: "It happened in Finchley last week and it's amazing considering the car isn't expected to go on sale for at least another three years."
Mitsubishi expects strong demand for the electric i, but it will have to sort out supply to the UK before then as the firm has experienced a drop in UK sales due to a shortage of cars. Some of this is due to all 300 of the first batch of i city cars selling out immediately, but the company says the real problem is it cannot get its hands on enough L200 4x4s to meet current demand.
Alisdair Suttie - 28 Nov 2007