First Major Auto Company Has Begun Electric Car Production
Yes! The Oil Age has officially ended: Autoblog green reports that Mitsubishi has just begun production of the first freeway speed EV from a big auto company.
EV fans have suffered for years through stops and starts in the roll-out of the obvious and necessary vehicle to drive us into our glorious low carbon future: Sure, brave little electric car start-ups like Tesla now deliver gorgeous EV models – to those with unlimited money, and of course there are plenty of 25 mile-an-hour NEVs – for those with unlimited patience.
But most of us have limited time and money: Where is our regular highway speed electric car that can get you all the way to work and back? With more than 3 wheels? Seating more than 2? And with a hood to keep out the rain? So far, it’s been just promises and strange contraptions and showroom vaporware for us.
Our future after the carbon age, was looking grim, indeed… So today, great news…
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Mitsubishi has begun the production of its iMiEV electric car today at its factory in Okayama.
It’s a tough little car. Here’s a great video of a test-drive several years ago of a prototype iMiEV ascending the steepest mountain range in Japan.
Mitsubishi is the first of the major automakers to kick off full scale production of a new EV and will be followed (in theory) by most other automakers over the next two years. However high gas prices last year and the econo-apocalypse has driven these majors to bankruptcy in the meantime, so we’ll see…
But Mitsubishi will complete the first 2,000 through the remainder of this fiscal year and speed up to 5,000 next year. The iMiEVhas a range of about 100 miles from its lithium ion battery pack. The batteries are produced by a joint venture between Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa. With the government incentives available in Japan, it will cost about US$31,300 at current exchange rates.
Japanese Government incentives halved the cost of the Prius to its earliest adopters too; they helped Toyota ease the first Prius off the assemblyline with hefty rebates, and we know how that turned out. Seems government can pick winners and losers, despite what our polititians say…
Via Autoblog green
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June 5th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Great news.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Love the way Reuters assumes the iMiEV is just another hybrid – they see hybrids as “rivals” as in this lede:
Mitsubishi Motors Corp.’s electric vehicle is twice as expensive as popular hybrid cars by rivals Toyota and Honda, and they overstate the price too. I trust Autoblog green as the more careful assessment of the price.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:24 am
With the upcoming EV, it still needs to be plugged in for x-number of minutes, either at home or at charging stations.
In my opinion or this can be a suggestion in some sort.. instead of stopping at a charging station, an inverter can be installed and plug in the battery charger…
I use this kind of system as an emergency power supply..
June 6th, 2009 at 8:35 am
The price is probably correct in both places – one before incentives/subsidies and one after.
Neither article mentions the real attraction commercially as being the reduced operating costs for years to come.
June 6th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
With its size and very limited range, I couldn’t take it to my usual business meetings in the neighboring town! I also couldn’t take it to Lowes and bring home my yard supplies. I’d be afraid to drive it home late at night from our country cousins, and what about the range after the battery has been charged a couple hundred times, or when you use lights and air conditioning.
It’ just ain’t suitable for America!
June 6th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
The price I saw over on TTAC.net “¥4.38 million, or $45,660 according to Automotive News”. But of course that would vary day to day based on exchange rates. And Russ has a point as well, incentives will likely play a role. Like Tesla’s $49,900* Model S. The * leading to some REALLY TINY grey on grey print (it actually shows a lot better here @ home on Safari than @ work on Firefox) about the $7500 tax credit.
The Model S does look interesting. 2011 is a long time away though. :^(
June 6th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
@russ: mea culpa
“neither mentions the real attraction commercially as being the reduced operating costs for years to come.”
Yeah, actually, initially I did bring this (rather huge) advantage of EVs up – but then being too lazy to track down the exact dollars you could expect to save by not buying gas, so I just cut the paragraph…
But, you are correct. A $31,000 EV because it is running on cheap night time electrons is much cheaper to run than a gas car.
Whether that equates it to a $10,000 car with twenty years of gas purchases, or a $15,000 car and ten years of gas…someone else can do the math.
June 7th, 2009 at 3:42 am
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June 8th, 2009 at 3:36 am
If you want to go more than 80 miles, use your other car.
My round trip commute is 62 miles. This car would be perfect for that.
Most families have two cars that can hold four people. Most families don’t need two cars that hold this many. We cater too much to young people who think they need to run around a lot.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:32 am
“Yes! The Oil Age has officially ended”
While I appreciate the significance of the first mass-produced EV from a major auto manufacturer, I think I’ll wait to declare victory until there are more choices on the market than a 100-mile electric jelly bean.
June 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Those number are hardly mass production. More like small market test. Oil will be with us for 30 years. Put that away and remember where you heard it.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I’m going to wait for the Volt. I don’t like the idea of an
all electric vehicle unless there is a back up power source.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
[...] [Gas2] [...]
June 9th, 2009 at 4:41 am
I believe it is a full five person car. I think the Volt is a four person car. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong (too lazy to Google it).
I have always liked the look of this car. I don’t think they plan to sell it in the States next year. Looks a lot like the Blue Car, which will have capacitors:
http://biodiversivist.blogspot.com/2009/03/outgreening-your-neighbors-competition.html
“…Seems government can pick winners and losers, despite what our polititians say…”
Maybe the Japanese government…