Australians drive the Mitsubishi iMiEV
Mitsubishi recently brought its iMiEV road show down under to Australia. One reviewer who sampled the little electric four door was pleased with the driving experience but less impressed with some other aspects of the car. As we and others that have driven the iMiEV can attest, the 2,400-pound mini car has more than adequate performance from its 47 kW motor. The driver did however, complain that the wheels look too small car for the car. While that is certainly a matter of personal taste, the very cheap looking interior might well turn away customers being asked to pony up $27,000. The gray hard plastics that dominate the interior of the iMiEV are typical for most low end cars, including many Mitsubishis. Given the cost of batteries, it seems likely that Mitsubishi will upgrade the interior to match price tag before production starts.
[Source: Drive.com.au]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jharlan 1:38PM (3/27/2009)
$27K? If that's the best best you can do it's not gonna get it. How is that going to compete with a Tata Nano? About 20K difference? You can get a real car for that money
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olhat 1:55PM (3/27/2009)
8k$ batery pack giving 16kwh in a 10k$ car (showroom prices, my guesstimates) ends up in 27 000 $ showroom price. What is off?
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Herm 3:21PM (3/27/2009)
Yes it is overpriced..that can be fixed.
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dgh853 6:03PM (3/27/2009)
AutoBlogGreen have previously reported the Mitsubishi boss' comments as "Once production ramps up to higher levels Mitsubishi hopes to drive the price down under USD20,000". ref. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/08/28/video-mitsubishi-boss-talks-about-electric-car-plans
That would convert to about $28,000 Australian Dollars on current conversion rates.
An equivalent petrol-powered small car in Australia would be around AUD18,000, so you're paying roughly AUD10,000 for the batteries.
That sounds expensive until you recognise the petrol savings available. On my calculations using:
- an estimated "next 10-years" average petrol price of AUD1.80 per litre (currently AUD1.20);
- the advertised 5.43 litres per 100 km of the petrol version;
versus
- off-peak electricity at 6.05 cents per kWh;
- 16kWh pack doing 160km;
=> You'll recoup the battery cost in 113,000km (70,000 miles).
You should also expect to save money on car servicing, car insurance (some companies provide 5-10% discounts for "green cars" in Australia) as well so you'd get your money back in well under 100,000km driving.
So for Australian city dwellers who average 15,000 km per year, the car will have a break even point around the five year mark - very reasonable.
Beating ICE-powered vehicles on a Total Cost of Ownership basis will result in significant take-up by fleets and the smart, value conscious city commuter.
Good stuff Mitsubishi - Australians like me are hanging out for the first company to bring an electric car Down Under!
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