Mitsubishi to roll out electric vehicle in July

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said it is ready to mass produce the i Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle (i MiEV). In the past year and a half, company President Osamu Masuko traveled nearly 7,000 kilometers within the city of Tokyo in the “green” hatchback, in an effort to erase doubts about the safety of electric cars. Charging the i MiEV results in only 30% of the carbon dioxide produced by gasoline-powered cars of the same size and emits zero emissions when powered by lithium ion batteries. The company will begin rolling out the electric car mainly for corporate clients in July and for the public in 2010. The company plans to produce 2,000 units of i MiEV in the first year of production, 5,000 units in fiscal 2010 and 15,000 units by fiscal 2011. While the i MiEV can be charged using a household power supply grid, a 200-volt charger will take about seven hours while a 100-volt charger will require twice as long. (June 4, 2009)