Green Options » i-MiEV

i-MiEV Pre Orders Sell Out in First Two Months

Susan Kraemer — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:55:20 +0000

Uh-oh. I guess I’m not the one who has been waiting impatiently for my i-MiEV. The EV I want has sold out all of it’s 2009 production in Japan. In just 60 days!

After the official launch of the Japanese market for its urban electric i-MiEV in July this year, Mitsubishi now has orders for all 2,000 of the cars scheduled for production in fiscal 2009.

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Peugeot and Mitsubishi Form Electric Car Alliance

Nick Chambers — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:53:57 +0000

Peugeot has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi to begin building and marketing a new electric car in Europe based on Mitsu’s i-MiEV platform. The agreement builds upon a previous memorandum of understanding and solidifies the two companies as partners in next generation car technology.

The car is set to begin production and sale in Europe by late in 2010. Peugeot expects to sell 25,000 of the cars to the European market per year. Citroën, Peugeot’s sister company, will also sell the i-MiEV-based electric car under the Citroën brand.

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Test Driving One of Only Two Nissan Electric Cars Worldwide

Nick Chambers — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:31:46 +0000

With one of Nissan’s senior EV project engineers sitting next to me, it felt like I was being expectantly doted on by a protective parent as I drove Nissan’s EV-02 electric test car around a closed course Monday. Given that the EV-02 is only one of two such cars in the world, the reaction was perhaps understandably warranted.

Earlier in the day Nissan had held a joint press conference with Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, Portland Mayor Sam Adams, and representatives from Portland General Electric, to further affirm Oregon’s burgeoning relationship with Nissan to be one of the first and premier locations for the company’s late 2010 electric car launch.

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Will Mitsubishi’s Small i MiEV Lead the EV Market?

Tetsuya Yokoyama — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:58:55 +0000

Beginning this summer, a small EV from Mitsubishi will be available on the market in Japan. The i MiEV will be the first mass scale EV production car available from any major auto manufacturer. Although a seemingly unlikely coup, Mitsubishi has been quietly putting great effort into EV development for many years.

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Nissan Stealthily on Track for Electric Car World Domination

Nick Chambers — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:57:18 +0000

As the dust settles out from the 2008 LA Auto Show, Nissan has clearly emerged as the car company to beat in our transportation future.

From a green perspective, even though the Mini E is getting the most hype, the Mitsubishi i MiEV is one hell of a fun car to drive, and the Honda FCX Clarity is cutting edge, those are just cars. The true measure of a car company lies in its strategies, and, after Nissan’s recent media blitz, the company has shown that there is not a single other auto manufacturer out there who “just gets it” like they do.

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Mitsubishi Partnering with California and Oregon to Bring Electric Cars to Market

Nick Chambers — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:27:14 +0000

After my test drive of the Mitsubishi i MiEV at the 2008 LA Auto Show yesterday, I walked away with the distinct feeling that Mistubishi has designed a sporty, relatively spacious, and well-thought-out winner of an electric car.

Mitsubishi is currently testing the i MiEV in California in collaboration with Southern California Edison. Additionally, according to Mitsubishi executive, David Patterson, the company is in negotiations to partner with Oregon after Nissan announced its new electric car partnership with the state on Wednesday. I guess everybody wants to get in on the Oregon action.

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The Sustainable, Rechargable Electric Car: Japan Takes Up the Challenge

Carol Gulyas — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:36:02 +0000

We all love the idea of electric vehicles (EVs) rolling quietly down the road, emitting nothing. But our passion cools when we ask: where does that electricity come from and why can’t it come from renewable sources?

Japan, the island nation that likes to think ahead about energy and water conservation, is researching the infrastructure needed to achieve wide use of EVs. Mitsubishi and the Tokyo Institute of Technology are collaborating on developing charging stations powered by solar and wind. Mitsubishi will be using its incredibly appealing i-MiEV car in the infrastructure research project, which will tackle questions such as:

How to recharge during non-peak times, such as at night, so there is less impact on the environment
How to store off-peak energy so that it can be used to recharge EVs later
How to store energy from wind so that it is available when needed, and how to communicate that availability at a charging station.
How EVs will be used by actual drivers and how they might recharge them in solar-powered homes.

Field testing will include a concept home with solar PV panels and a charging post, from which the EV will be driven back and forth to the campus. A solar thermal dish using a Stirling engine will be used to generate power. Remote wind towers will be linked into the system as well.

Field testing started July 1 and will continue through March 31, 2010, under the auspices of the Advanced Energy Management (AEM) project promoted by the Integrated Research Institute of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. (Note to American car-makers: the Japanese are about to clean your clock again.)

Image Credit: TechOn , which also has good background on the story.

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