The latest expansion of Mitsubishi's electric car program will be made official today in Iceland. The small North Atlantic nation will join the test efforts for the Mitsubishi iMiEV during 2009. Iceland's president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese automaker to bring the diminutive EV to the island. Iceland has already been active for nearly three decades in making its energy supplies renewable. Virtually of all Iceland's electrical power comes from geothermal or hydro power.

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Mitsubishi has been running field tests with its iMiEV electric micro-car in Japan and elsewhere for some time now with an eye toward a market introduction some time in 2009. In addition to the field tests, the company has been drumming up interest for the car in the United States, the UK and Europe in hopes of getting interest from consumers and governments for both infrastructure and purchase incentives. The latest addition to the itinerary is New Zealand where Kiwis will get to check out the lithium ion-powered four-seater thanks to cooperation with local utility Meridian Energy. Unlike most utilities, Meridian also has the claim to fame of being a 100 percent renewable power provider with hydroelectric and wind generation. If there is enough interest in the iMiEV after the February 2009 tour, New Zealand could be high up on the list to get the production version since, like Australia and Japan, it's a right hand drive market and the car would not have to be re-engineered.

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Daimler and its Japanese affiliate Mitsubishi Fuso have opened a new global hybrid truck development center in Kawasaki, Japan. The center will be the world wide center for developing hybrid systems for commercial vehicles. Engineering teams at various regional centers around the world will coordinate their efforts through the new center. Mr. Fumio Akikawa, who is currently Director of Powertrain Development for Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, will head up the hybrid center. Mitsubishi Fuso has been working on hybrid trucks for a decade and already has several hybrid trucks on the market in Japan. The Daimler press release is after the jump.

[Source: Daimler]

The Wall Street Journal talked to Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko ahead of this week's Moscow Motor Show about some of the company's recovery, its involvement in the Russian market and its plans for marketing electric vehicles. Masuko reiterated earlier announcements that the the iMiEV would go on sale in Japan next summer at a price of about $27,400. Once production ramps up to higher levels Mitsubishi hopes to drive the price down under $20,000. Initially the iMiEV will be in right hand drive only with a left hand drive model coming in 2010. The company hasn't decided on U.S. sales yet. That will depend on the results of field tests with California utilities beginning late this year. Mitsubishi has questions about the U.S. infrastructure and whether this particular car is suitable for use in the U.S. Initial volumes will be low with about 2,000 the first year and doubling each year for the next couple of years. Mitsubishi has already announced plans to increase the planned production volumes of batteries from its joint venture with Yuasa. According to Masuko, the company has no plans to build hybrids but will look at plug-in hybrids down the road. Check out the video after the jump. Thanks to Mark for the tip!


[Source: Wall Street Journal]

According to a Financial Times online article, the answer to the question in the headline is yes. The EV revolution will require a lot of participants, and editor J. Soble summarizes the recent efforts from four Japanese automakers, the postal service, a utility company and the Japanese government, which are all working towards a future with a lot of electric cars on the road.

First, we have the expectations that Mitsubishi MiEV, Subaru R1e, Nissan-Renault will continue their EV projects in Japan (not just in Europe and Israel). Of course, we also await the plug-in version of the Toyota Prius. As for Japan's postal service, the company announced it will convert its 21,000 vehicle fleet to run on electrons. Utility Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) has announced the development of new electric stations that could charge an EV enough to run for 40 km (26 miles) in five minutes, or up to 60 km (40 miles) in ten minutes. The company sees them in, for instance, supermarkets. The government is helping build the infrastructure as well: The Kanagawa prefecture, the region adjoining Tokyo, is providing 150 recharging stations in an effor to fulfil the Japanese Government's announcement that half of the new cars sold in 2020 will be electric. Thanks to Mark for the tip.


[Source: FT]

London trucking got a bit greener today as Daimler AG has delivered ten Fuso Canter Eco Hybrids to various customers in the city. The 7.5-ton hybrid trucks are expected to save about 15-percent in both fuel and carbon emissions using a diesel engine and electric drivetrain. The eight customers were specifically chosen to study what the economic benefits of the fuel savings could be, since all the trucks will be used in slightly different roles. Daimler hopes that it will become apparent after the three-year test what roles the trucks are best suited for. Daimler has even created a special service center in London for servicing of the trucks, which were delivered pre-painted in each of the customers' colors. Quite acomodating of the German automaker, wouldn't you say? The trucks themselves were introduced in 2006 and have proven popular in Japan. Daimler hopes that European customers will find that the fuel savings over a couple of years will make up for the higher initial cost that the hybrid trucks are saddled with.

[Source: Daimler AG]

Those folks in America wanting to buy an all-electric Mitsubishi i MiEV sometime in the future now have a reason for increased optimism. The company has just announced agreements with both Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG & E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) to test how the vehicles fare under California's driving conditions. Amongst the quotes that accompanies these sorts of press releases lies a hint that at least one of the utilities is already considering charging infrastructure for the state. Behold the statement of Andrew Tang, senior director at PG&E: "Partnering with automakers like Mitsubishi is vital to developing compatible infrastructures." Sounds promising, no?

MiMoCo has already partnered with seven different utilities in Japan for testing which must have gone quite well as they are planning on retailing the car there in 2009. Although the EV may be sold in England as early as 2010, according to an earlier statement by Tohru Hashimoto, the kei car may be slightly up-sized before it comes to America although the powertrain should remain the same. Press releases from both Californian utilities await your scrutiny after the break.



[Source: Reuters / Mitsubishi Motor Co.]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsuibshi i MiEV

Once again showing how important automakers see the lithium ion battery is an announcement from Yuasa and Mitsubishi that their joint venture battery plant needs to be much larger than originally planned. In fact, the two companies have quintupled planned output before a single battery has even been manufactured. Mitsubishi is expecting high demand for its upcoming i-MiEV electric car, which should go on sale in Japan sometime in 2009. We wonder how much impact Japan Post's plan to use an all electric fleet had in this decision.

At the outset, the plant will cost about 4 billion yen ($36.94 million) and be able to produce enough packs for 10,000 EV's. By 2012, an additional 10 billion yen ($92 million or so) will have been spent to double that capacity. In order to make room for a plant this large, Yuasa is said to be searching for a new site in Japan.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The Japan EV Club drove a Mitsubishi i MiEV and a Subaru R1e from Tokyo to Hokkaido in the week before the G8 summit, for their "Challenge and Charge" event. Now they are sharing stats about the cars' electrical consumption and CO2 emissions and comparing them to a (presumably) typical Japanese gasoline car.

The poster in the photo summarizes the EV stats for the entire trip of 858.7 km ( = 533.57 miles):

* 85.65 kWh used
* 35.12 kg CO2 to produce the electricity ( = 77.43 lbs.)
* Fuel cost: 1,713 yen ( = $16.94)

In comparison, on the bottom of the poster are a gasoline car's stats:

* 75.3 liters used ( = 19.89 gallons)
* 174.6 kg CO2 produced by the ICE ( = 384.93 lbs.)
* Fuel cost: 12,956 yen ( = $121.34)

Thanks to Yanquetino for the tip, translation, everything.
[Source: Japan EV Club]

We got word a couple of days ago that Mitsubishi had pulled ahead its retail sales plans for the iMiEV electric car from 2010 to mid 2009. Now we have some information about the pricing for the diminutive electric car. The little four seater will reportedly carry a sticker price in its home market of about 4 million yen or US$37,496. That would put it in a similar range to the expected price of the Chevy Volt which will hit the market a year later. Tax breaks for low emission cars in Japan should chop the end price by about one quarter to somewhere around $28,000. Now if Mitsubishi would just bring the iMiEV to the US market it would satisfy a lot of American fans.

[Source: Trading Markets]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Concept-cX

Mitsubishi wanted the world to see that it had plenty of green intentions at least year's Frankfurt Motor Show. Thankfully, those hopes and dreams appear to be turning into reality, as the Concept-cX crossover has now been approved for production. As was initially shown in the concept vehicle, a brand-spankin' new 1.8 liter clean turbodiesel engine will make its debut in the new crossover. From there the power will be sent through a dual clutch SST transmission and the all-wheel-drive system lifted from the latest Lancer Evolution. Of course, to meet the future Euro-V emissions regulations, a diesel particulate filter is fitted to clean up the exhaust stream.
The new cX should fit well into Mitsubishi's product portfolio, right under the current Outlander in both size and price. We can't say for certain, but considering that the two vehicles share a platform, we can reasonably expect to see this same drivetrain mounted in the even friendlier Lancer platform in the future. We can only hope that the cX and its diesel engine will make its way stateside.

[Source: Car Central]

Mitsubishi had been planning to start leasing its i MiEV electric car to commercial and government fleets in 2009, with a Japanese retail launch following in 2010. It now looks like that plan might be accelerated by a year. The Nikkei business daily is reporting that Japanese drivers may be able to get their hands on the electric kei car by next summer. The combination of record oil prices and good test results so far has evidently given Mitsubishi the confidence to get the ball rolling sooner than planned. The company could produce as many as 2,000 i MiEVs in the first year, and ramp that up to 10,000 within two years. And what of U.S. availability? Sorry, no word so far.

[Source: Nikkei via Green Car Congress]

Click above image to enlarge

The fuzz in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture are getting a new ride, and while it's certainly not going to come out as the victor in a high-speed pursuit, it should handle lighter duties just fine. The car, as you can see above, is a Mitsubishi i MiEV, and the delivery of the unit to the police department for testing appears to mark the first such use of an i MiEV by a Japanese organization other than a power company. Kanagawa Five-O will evaluate the car through March of 2009, and Mitsubishi will regularly collect test data for further analysis. Now, what would be really awesome is if you could divert power from the battery to a set of integrated tasers. They may be superfluous, though, as criminals will likely just surrender to the car's cuteness.

[Source: Mitsubishi]

While we've featured many alternatively-powered cars on AutoblogGreen, this may be the first one that is fueled by the imagination. If you've been perusing the iMiEV microsite we told you about the other day you may have noticed a paper craft section. It's a special place that fans of the Mitsubishi iMiEV (other Mitsu models are also there) can go to and download a PDF file containing a magical pattern that was conjured up by Akira Mizorogi. This can then be printed out, cut out, folded and glued to become a mini version of the micro electric car. Although the cutting may be achieved with scissors, an exacto knife and cutting mat is recommended. Small, childlike fingers and a grandparent's patience may also come in handy.

Because of the inexpensive properties of paper automobiles, we were able to get our hands on three of these little beauties, instead of the usual single model, to put through their paces. The cars were pretty much identical with each having unlimited amounts of power and speed. A few runs through the cones revealed handling that was superb as long as you kept a gentle grip. One car had a little better fit and finish which was chalked up to assembly by a different team. We expect the electric versions to be more uniform and also more silent, since the vehicles we had were for some reason equipped with some sort of sound effects device that reproduced the noises of a gas-powered car.

The trio were driven across varying terrain including a redwood forest (pictured above), a grassy savanna, as well as the usual concrete and asphalt. A word of caution. It's a dangerous world out there for paper cars so beware of puddles and large furry beasts who might mistake your iMiEV for a mouse. Check out the gallery of our paper iMiEV adventures below. Many thanks to Yanquetino for the tip!


[Source: Mitsubishi]

Mitsubishi has been showing off and field testing its iMiEV electric car this year in preparation for a limited production launch in 2009-10. To help spread the word, the Japanese automaker has launched a new micro-site dedicated to the battery powered micro-car. On the site, Mitsubishi explains some of the technology choices made for the oddly named car. The iMiEV uses a lithium ion battery pack mounted under the floor to provide a range of about 100 miles. The i that the iMiEV is based on features a rear mounted engine which is replaced with a permanent magnet motor driving the rear wheels. The batteries are coming from a new joint venture between Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa. The site also features videos about the car and a paper craft version that you can make for yourself. Domenick is evaluating that one in the AutoblogGreen garage right now and will have a full review shortly. Thanks for the tip Yanquetino!

[Source: Mitsubishi]