Mitsubishi Pushes Up Nationwide i EV Sales Date
By Scott Doggett December 7, 2011
Mitsubishi, which late last month started selling its i electric vehicle (above) on the West Coast and in Hawaii, bumped up the nationwide launch date for the Japanese automaker's first U.S. EV because of expected demand. Mitsubishi will start selling the B-Class i EV in mid-2012 instead of late-2012, Mitsubishi Motors North America spokeswoman Christine Jew confirmed. The company will also start selling an electric version of its Mirage compact in Japan in 2013, though it hasn't set a date for U.S. sales of that car.
Known overseas as the i-MiEV, Mitsubishi has sold about 16,000 i subcompacts since debuting the model in Japan in July 2009, and previously set a goal to sell 1,500 by March 31 and 5,000 a year in the U.S. starting in 2013. The company, which debuted the i in California, Oregon and Washington in addition to Hawaii, is marketing the four-door hatchback as a zero-emissions commuter car that best complements a conventional car instead of serving as a household's only vehicle.
The i, which is priced in North America at about $6,000 less than the $35,200 Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle, offers an EPA-rated single-charge range of about 62 miles, or 11 miles fewer than the Leaf's. The U.S. i is torquier than overseas versions, and includes a tire-pressure monitoring system and front and rear bumpers in order to conform to North American safety requirements. The automaker will start selling its gas-powered Mirage compact in Japan in mid-2012, with the electric version slated to debut in Japan a year later, Jew said.
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