Around the world Mitsubishi has announced initial prices for fleet purchasers of their subcompact i-MiEV electric car that range from about $53,000 in Japan to as high as $59,000 in Germany. Given the fact that Nissan will start selling the LEAF EV this fall for $32,780 in the US, it’s clear that Mitsubishi will have to find a way to bring their prices down before the smaller i-MiEV goes on sale to the mass market at the end of 2011.
Apparently Mitsubishi has been thinking about these issues as well: their director of electric-vehicle operations, Joe Delello, now says that Mitsubishi is aiming for a final price tag that could bring the i-MiEV below $30,000 when it hits showrooms.
Although the Nissan LEAF is technically classified as a compact car, it sports a design and interior dimensions that place it squarely in the realm of “conventional family car.” By comparison, the i-MiEV is anything but conventional—it’s tiny and shaped like an egg. It will surely win over its niche, but when compared to the LEAF, it will have to be priced far more attractively to be considered by anything but the die hard quirky car fans.
In an Automotive News article (subs. req’d), Delello said, “We’re very keen on being as competitive as possible. We certainly want to make [the i-MiEV] as close as possible to the reach of many intenders.” To reach such low prices, Mitsubishi is depending on battery prices falling fast as well as achieving mass volume by selling the i-MiEV rebadged as Peugeots and Citroens.
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The same with the very little $39,900 Th!ng.
The same with the very little $39,900 Th!ng.
To compete with the $33K Leaf sub-$30K pricing is not going to cut it: it needs to be sub-$20K. If Mitsubishi can’t offer it a a price level that’s way below the Leaf’s the 60 mile real world range iMiEV is just not going to be competitive. Ghosn may be right when he claimed that Nissan will pretty much own the EV market for years to come. The reward of being the only one in the market with real vision…
To compete with the $33K Leaf sub-$30K pricing is not going to cut it: it needs to be sub-$20K. If Mitsubishi can’t offer it a a price level that’s way below the Leaf’s the 60 mile real world range iMiEV is just not going to be competitive. Ghosn may be right when he claimed that Nissan will pretty much own the EV market for years to come. The reward of being the only one in the market with real vision…
My sentiments exactly about price compared to the Leaf. Same goes with the SmartEV…which is further limited by it’s 62mph top speed. I drove the Smart recently, and while it’s “big” inside for two people and moved well, it’s much smaller than the Leaf, didn’t have a cool GPS to tell you where the charging stations were, and has a more limited range.
I’m still trying to figure out why these little “city” cars are more expensive than the Leaf. Is Nissan being extremely aggressive with the Leaf’s initial pricing…or did they really get the battery cost down so they can turn a profit in a year or two. I’m thinking it’s the power of their partnership with NEC.
My sentiments exactly about price compared to the Leaf. Same goes with the SmartEV…which is further limited by it’s 62mph top speed. I drove the Smart recently, and while it’s “big” inside for two people and moved well, it’s much smaller than the Leaf, didn’t have a cool GPS to tell you where the charging stations were, and has a more limited range.
I’m still trying to figure out why these little “city” cars are more expensive than the Leaf. Is Nissan being extremely aggressive with the Leaf’s initial pricing…or did they really get the battery cost down so they can turn a profit in a year or two. I’m thinking it’s the power of their partnership with NEC.
I don’t think the imiev needs to hit the sub 20k price tag but it does need to be a good chunk cheaper than the leaf. I Do think they are going to seriously limit there customer base at anything over 25k though.
I don’t think the imiev needs to hit the sub 20k price tag but it does need to be a good chunk cheaper than the leaf. I Do think they are going to seriously limit there customer base at anything over 25k though.