PLUG OK license plate
Speculation Continues about Mitsubishi's EV/PHEV Plans
Oct 10, 2006 (From the CalCars-News archive)
CalCars-News
This posting originally appeared at CalCars-News, our newsletter of breaking CalCars and plug-in hybrid news. View the original posting here.
Want more? Become a subscriber to CalCars-News:


Mitsubishi showed some electric vehicle concept cars in January with "Mitsubishi In-wheel motor Electric Vehicle" (MIEV). You can read more about it at Green Car Congress's story and earlier links: http://www.greencarcongress.com/­2006/­10/­report_mitsubis.html. Since then we've heard talk from them about hybrid versions. Here's the latest from AutoWeek and Jalopnik (which ends with a reporter's speculation on PHEVs).

Zero Emissions
Mitsubishi to sell electric car in the U.S.
http://www.autoweek.com/­apps/­pbcs.dll/­article?AID=/­20061009/­FREE/­61009001/­1041/­TOC01ARCHIVE
By KATHY JACKSON | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
AutoWeek | Published 10/09/06, 7:28 am et

LAS VEGAS -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to sell a small electric car in the United States.

President Osamu Masuko said the vehicle, powered by a lithium-ion battery, will be launched first in Japan. A hybrid version of the car also might be available, Masuko added.

Timing and sales volume targets were not disclosed. A detailed announcement about the car is expected shortly.

"From an environmental standpoint, we believe the electric car is the way to go because it has zero emissions," Masuko said here last week at a Mitsubishi dealer meeting. "Fuel cell technology is still off in the future. Diesels are big in Europe but not in Japan and the U.S."

Mitsubishi has been testing hybrid and electric cars in Japan. In January, it unveiled a hybrid concept at the Detroit auto show.

The Concept-CT MIEV is smaller than the Lancer. It has four doors, all-wheel drive and a 1.1-liter gasoline engine. Each wheel has its own electric motor. The electric motors provide awd without a traditional transmission, thus cutting weight.

During a previous interview, Mitsubishi executives told Automotive News that the production version of the concept might be based on the next-generation Colt, which is due before the end of the decade.

Lithium-ion batteries store twice the energy of similarly sized nickel-metal hydride batteries.


Mitsubishi Working up Electric Car for US Market http://www.jalopnik.com/­cars/­alternative-energy/­mitsubishi-working-up-electric-car-for-us-market-206143.php

Rumors that Mitsubishi's been planning a foray into the electric car business have been on the lips of car watchers for months. Now, Automotive News reports the company will soon divulge plans to sell an EV subcompact, powered by a lithium-ion battery, in the US. Mitsu president Osamu "Sparks" Masuko says the car will be launched first in Japan (natch, they get all the good gadgets) before a stateside reveal. Details on the new venture are reportedly forthcoming, but it's no secret Mitsubishi's plotting something electric; it's unveiled several concept cars employing its MIEV in-wheel electric motor technology at recent auto shows, including the hybrid Concept-CT (pictured) in Detroit last year. (Masuko said a hybrid model could also see daylight). AW reported earlier this year that Mitsubishi's production EV would likely be based on the Colt. Takeaway: Could Mitsubishi beat Toyota to the punch with a plug-in? - Mike Spinelli

Copyright © 2003-09 California Cars Initiative, an activity of the International Humanities Center | Site Map