Mitsubishi shows production electric car, announces pricing
Mitsubishi is ready to put its i-Miev on the road, but this woman will have a 30-minute wait to charge up her car.
(Credit: Mitsubishi)Not to be outdone by Subaru's earlier announcement of the Stella electric car, Mitsubishi gave full details on the production i-Miev electric car, including sales volume plans and pricing.
Mitsubishi has been aggressive in pushing its electric car plans by putting its i-Miev into test fleet operations and showing it off at auto shows. The company even let journalists drive one at the Detroit auto show.
The i-Miev fits four passengers for zero-emission driving.
(Credit: Mitsubishi)Mitsubishi announced that it would begin selling the i-Miev electric car in late July, matching the timing of Subaru's Stella electric car sales. But the i-Miev will initially only be available to corporations and government groups. Sales to private buyers will not commence until April 2010.
Unlike Subaru, which will only sell 170 Stella electric cars, Mitsubishi is planning on producing 1,400 i-Mievs for corporate and government lessees. The i-Mievs will go for 4,380,000 yen, or about $45,300 at current exchange rates. Japanese buyers of the i-Miev would qualify for a $14,300 subsidy for electric vehicles from the Japanese government.
The i-Miev uses a lithium ion battery pack and a 47-kilowatt electric motor to get a range of 100 miles. Recharging the batteries from a quick charger takes 30 minutes, while recharging from a 200 volt outlet takes seven hours. Regenerative brakes help recharge the battery pack during driving.
Mitsubishi has designed the i-Miev with all the amenities of a production vehicle, including electrically powered climate control with air conditioning. All exterior lighting, including headlights, are LED. Mitsubishi specifies an optional navigation system with a 7-inch display and a solid-state drive for map storage.
The company has even worked out which color schemes will be available at launch.
Where, pray tell, are you going to drive one of these shoeboxes over 100 miles? C'mon... pack up the wife and kids and drive to Grandma's house in Kansas?
I think the idea is for the average (95 out of 100) urban commuters to get to work and back, and to drive around town in your off time. This is not a touring sedan by any stretch of the imagination. Let's look at using these cars for what they are really being built for.
I will say, however, that $45K is a lot of money for driving to work and back. If you drive 30 miles each way and you get 18mpg city in your normal car, then at 50 weeks of work, you use about 835 gal of gasoline. At $2.50/gal that is about $2100. At $4.00/gal, that is $3340 in fuel costs per year. Figure that this vehicle will last you at least 8 years, that is about $30,000 in fuel costs at $4.00/gal. I am a right wing, conservative, but I believe that $4 gas will be back real soon and won't go away (especially if our Prez has anything to say about it.)
Yes, this car will require some electricity to charge it up, but most of these type vehicles get the equivalent of 100-200 mpg, so at 150mpg, this vehicle will cost about 1/8 as much to run as your other gasoline vehicle, or about $3600 over 8 years. Yes, I know, very rough calculations, but my guess is as good as anyone else's!
With these kind of savings, the $45K price looks less daunting. Will you need two vehicles? Yes, but what family doesn't have two or more vehicles? Like I said, EVs aren't for everyone, but they fill a need IMHO.
So behavior trumps technology.
The one solution to this will be 'smart chargers' that have a load center at the main breaker and feed your charger as much current as the house is willing to provide, but it still isn't going to be instant.
How much do you suppose Plasma Boy spent on his Datsun? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369h-SEBXd8
But for some, it's a shoe that fits, and that's a good thing. These buyers will prime the "economy of scale" pumps and bring down the cost as the volumes increase.
Matt
The second issue is infrastructure. I don't see offices putting chargers en mass in their underground garages and parking lots. Plus where I live, we're currently in the midst of an electricity shortage. (I'm telling the greenies now that wind mills aren't going to be enough to charge all these cars) Switching to electric is like going back to day one with the car. It's all fine and dandy that they're clean but without the infrastructure to support it (charging stations), pushing them out now is putting the cart before the horse. Automakers and governments are going to have to put in some serious investments to get those charging stations out there.
Danged- why is it that they can't make these cheaper..?
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by mattyj40
June 21, 2009 8:55 AM PDT
- As a U.S. letter carrier i drove an electric vehicle for two years. I loved that little van, and was sad the day they scrapped the project. My route only required 10-15 miles of driving a day, so my EV worked great. Some guys had routes with more miles and would run every accessory the entire day, which killed battery life. Sometimes substitute carriers would forget to plug it in at the end of the day. With gas at 99 centd a gallon at the time, the post office bailed, what a shame. As soon as an affordable EV hits the market, i will buy one . No more gas , oil changes, spark plgs, water pumps, timing belts, exhaust system, and polution!
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