Japan Post plans a switch to electric cars, Mitsubishi stock soars
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsuibshi i MiEV
News comes from the Japan Post Service Co, which is the mail delivery unit of Japan Post Group, that the mail carrier plans a switch to completely electric vehicles as soon as possible. This announcement comes as record-high gasoline prices sweep the world. Major Japanese automakers have big plans regarding all-electric cars, with manufacturers such as Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi all readying introductions of their first models in 2010. Stocks of each of these companies soared with the news from the Post, along with battery makers which have relationships with those auto companies. Mitsubishi and its partner Yuasa appear to have benefited the most from the announcement, with shares of those companies jumping a surprisingly strong 3.7 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
In an effort to start saving money on gas right away, the Post also suggested that it will start testing hybrid vehicles, which could fill in until the fully electric vehicles and the associated necessary infrastructure are ready.
[Source: Bloomberg, Reuters]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Yanquetino 4:09PM (6/03/2008)
This makes complete sense. Rarely, if ever, does a postal vehicle travel more than 50 miles per day, let alone the 90 mile range the prototype iMiEV is achieving. It makes you wonder why in the world the postal service in this country didn't order fleets of RAV4-EVs several years ago. Duh!
While this is a very encouraging announcement, it could have its downside. For example, as you know, at this point in time Yuasa can only manufacture sufficient batteries to power about 2,000 iMiEVs per year. Since the Japanese postal service plans on 21,000 electric vehicles, that might very well mean that we won't see them on this side of the Pacific for a long time.
Let's hope that's not the case, and that Yuasa can quickly ramp up production to meet demand. The iMiEV petition now has over 1500 signatures on it, despite the fact that it is in an obscure corner of the web, rarely seen by the average internet user:
http://www.petitiononline.com/iMiEV/petition.html
Somehow we need to get the word to Mitsubishi that we want the iMiEV here. I have gone to the local dealer, spoken with the manager, and even offered to put down a deposit. I plan to stop by again tomorrow to learn what the regional representative, in turn, replied to him!
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Randy Harris 4:51PM (6/03/2008)
This car is the nearest production EV that really looks great to me. The Th!nk OX is what I'd really like, but they're further away from making that a reality.
Here's to hoping that EV's and especially with regenerative capabilities like the Dean Kamen Sterling in a Th!nk City become far more common and affordable.
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Lad 5:55PM (6/03/2008)
It's interesting that Japan, Israel, and Denmark are committing to electric cars by creating an immediate demand for BEVs and PHEVs. The Renault Nissan Alliance is very active in creating a market for the electric cars through Project Better Place. This is all very encouraging. I should think that investments in batteries and solar power devices would be the hottest, "Next Big Thing" going. I see that electric mass transportation and battery electric cars driven by solar power generation as our energy future. Fossil fuel's can no longer be tolerated by the people as they become increasing concerned about the health of our people and the planet.
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David Wright 7:23PM (6/03/2008)
Last year France's postal service, La Poste, announced they will buy 10,000 all-electric delivery vehicles. In the UK, Royal Mail (whose delivery fleet is 33,000) is trialling all-electric vans made by Smith EV
( http://www.SmithElectricVehicles.com )
Logistics company TNT (50,000 fleet) have so far bought 150 all-electric trucks from Smith EV. Logistics company DHL has also been using the 9-ton version of the Smith Newton.
The concept is tested and proven - and found to be not just practicable but also economically viable. There are tens of thousands of depot-based delivery fleets worldwide who could go electric - and my guess is that a lot of them will now do so.
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Mik_Cal 11:09PM (6/03/2008)
Great news! The age of EVs is beginning!!
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Ookuma 4:52AM (6/04/2008)
Japan Post already seemingly has a pretty green fleet of vehicles moving the mail, at least locally. All the local letters and small packages are delivered by people riding Honda Cub 50cc models (and I've heard that some people get about 80 mpg out of those).
Regardless, props to them for going electric.
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KL 2:46AM (7/12/2009)
Points of interest.
- less than 1K or so passenger cars are needed by JP (sales guys). Contrast with 22K for mail delivery
- mail delivery pretty much requires a sliding door, higher off the ground and more room.
- Why use a passenger car when they can simply convert the existing red Subaru they use now. Double green savings because you don't crush the old ones and you don't manufacture the new ones (except for the conversion components). And you can simply lock the transmission for the conversion and use the same physical drive train.
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