25 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs Roll Into the UK

18 November, 2009 02:37:00

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25 electric Mitsubishi i-MiEVs arrived at Bristolâ€™s Royal Portbury Docks in the UK, and will hit the roads on December 12th 2009 as part of a West Midlands based government trial.

The i-MiEV’s left Japan by boat six weeks ago and their arrival has been eagerly awaited, especially by the end users and everyone following their progress via Mitsubishi Motors UK’s i-MiEV Facebook fan page.

The cars are taking part in one of the Government’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator projects, run by the Technology Strategy Board. Through an extensive selection process, members of the public have been selected by consortium partner, Coventry University, to trial the cars for 12 months allowing analysis of driving and charging behaviour.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a fully electric city car and the first real-life EV with zero tailpipe emissions made available by a mainstream manufacturer.

It's a genuine car, ensuring no compromise in cabin space, seating 4 adults and room for luggage. It has a top speed of 81 mph, a range of 100 miles and can be trickle charged from flat to full in 6 hours at any UK three-pin socket – and it only costs 96p for a full charge. The i-MiEV is powered by a 16kWh Li-ion battery pack from Lithium Energy Japan - a joint venture between Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa.

The i-MiEV, on sale in Japan since July this year, has been a sell-out success. The 1,400 units allocated by Mitsubishi for the 2009 Japanese market have flown out the door and an impressive 900 orders have already been placed in Japan from the 2010 build allocation.

European production will begin in October 2010 with left hand drive i-MiEV’s available in markets across Continental Europe towards the end of the year. Citroen and Peugeot will sell re-badged version.

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