First 25 production i-MiEVs roll into the UK
by Sebastian Blanco on Nov 17th 2009 at 6:57PM 
Mitsubishi i-MiEV – Click above for high-res image gallery
While the ship they came in on was probably dirty as all get out during its six-week journey from Japan, 25 all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEVs have arrived in the UK and will take to the streets (in an uneventful government Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator test kind of way) on December 12th. Bringing the cars to the UK has been in discussion for a long time.
If sales in Japan, which started in July, are any indication, a lot more ships with a lot more electric jellybeans will need to make the journey to satisfy demand. Mitsubishi has sold 1,400 units in Japan and already has orders for 900 copies of the vehicles that it will make in 2010. Mitsubishi will make the car in Europe starting in October 2010 and Peugeot and Citroën will sell re-badged versions. More information after the jump.
Gallery: Production i-MiEVs in the UK
[Source: Mitsubishi]
PRESS RELEASE:
ALL ELECTRIC i-MiEV'S CHARGE IN
It's Here...
Excitement is building as the first 25 full production all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV's arrive at Bristol's Royal Portbury Docks. Final preparation has already begun before the cars hit the road on December 12th 2009 as part of a West Midlands based government trial.
The i-MiEV's left Japan by boat six weeks ago and their arrival has been eagerly awaited, especially by the end users and everyone following their progress via Mitsubishi Motors UK's i-MiEV Facebook fan page.
i-MiEV – Leading The Market
The multi award winning Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a fully electric city car and the first real-life EV with zero tailpipe emissions made available by a mainstream manufacturer. It's a genuine car, ensuring no compromise in cabin space, seating 4 adults and room for luggage. It has a top speed of 81 mph, a range of 100 miles and can be trickle charged from flat to full in 6 hours at any UK three-pin socket – and it only costs 96p for a full charge.
An Early Sales Triumph
The i-MiEV, on sale in Japan since July this year, has been a sell-out success. The 1,400 units allocated by Mitsubishi for the 2009 Japanese market have flown out the door and an impressive 900 orders have already been placed in Japan from the 2010 build allocation.
European production will begin in October 2010 with left hand drive i-MiEV's available in markets across Continental Europe towards the end of the year.
Real-World Trials
The cars are taking part in one of the Government's Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator projects, run by the Technology Strategy Board. Through an extensive selection process, members of the public have been selected by consortium partner, Coventry University, to trial the cars for 12 months allowing analysis of driving and charging behaviour.
The West Midlands CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators) consortium combines the expertise of Arup – design and engineering consultant and project leader, power provider E.ON, the city councils of Birmingham and Coventry, three academic institutions, and five other car manufacturers, and is supported by Advantage West Midlands.
ENDS
For further information, images and video content please contact the Mitsubishi Press Office on 01285 647 200 or see www.mitsubishipress.co.uk
Andy Wertheim, General Manager Press & Environmental Affairs a.wertheim@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
Nic Reglar, Press Officer, Product Affairs & Events n.reglar@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
Notes to Editors
* The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non departmental public body, established by the Government. Its mission is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve quality of life. It is sponsored by the UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
* For further information on the Technology Strategy Board and Ultra Low Carbon Demonstrator Programme visit www.innovateuk.org
* The West Midlands consortium, called CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators) is made up of 13 organisations, led by Arup, a company with experience that crosses all areas that touch this project, from vehicle design to planning, to infrastructure and energy. Consortium partners include Coventry and Birmingham City Councils, the universities of Birmingham, Aston and Coventry, E.ON, and five other vehicle manufacturers. The consortium is funded by the Technology Strategy Board and Advantage West Midlands, and will develop and demonstrate 110 fully electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the two cities over 12 months.
* For further information on CABLED, please contact Vicky Maunder, Arup – vicky.maunder@arup.com or 020 7755 6649
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paulwesterberg 7:11PM (11/17/2009)
A 100 mile recharge for only $1.61.
This could be the ipod of cars or the next beetle if they make enough and get the prices down.
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Lad 7:48PM (11/17/2009)
At last a production model hits the highways; something other than vapor!
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Thunderbuck 7:52PM (11/17/2009)
This car is hot. While it's as cute as a Smart, it looks a bit more like a "real car". And since its ICE-powered versions won't be available outside Japan, people will quickly tag this as an electric car.
This could do for EVs what the Prius did for hybrids--provide a friendly, instantly-recognizable face.
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Throwback 8:19AM (11/18/2009)
The "i" is available in England, that is the ICE pwoered version. Mitsu is also looking to bring the next i to the USA.
ziv 8:17PM (11/17/2009)
Are any of these actually going to be sold? Or are they demo Leafs? GM has 80 IV'er Volts driving all over, but it doesn't mean much because they aren't being sold. I wish we had a bunch of BEV's and ER-EV's to choose from that were actually getting sold. Preferably cars that look like a car, and better than the production Volt. The Leaf is not a very good looking car, and the Aptera is just too flakey to generate many sales. An ER-EV40 Ford Fusion would be nice. Especially if it was priced under $30,000 after tax credit.
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jake 9:39PM (11/17/2009)
I'm thinking most of the initial sales in Japan are to utilities and other fleets. The official price in Japan is 4.59 million yen (~$48k USD) before any tax. A bit steep, but it should decline if they increase the units from the 1000s to the 10k-100k range (like what Nissan is doing with the Leaf).
But these UK ones, they look like only demonstration vehicles according to the article. The actual production version will be built later next year in Europe, but these examples look to be pretty much production ready (not just prototypes).
Hopefully this comes to the US too (maybe even built in the US, since the US currency isn't doing so well, so it's actually more expensive to ship it here from Japan).
polo 10:53PM (11/17/2009)
"GM has 80 IV'er Volts driving all over, but it doesn't mean much because they aren't being sold. I wish we had a bunch of BEV's and ER-EV's to choose from that were actually getting sold."
Actually it means alot that they are demo testing these EVs a year before they're commercially released. This means the final versions that are released to the public will be tweaked for optimum driving performance, charging, cycling, etc. Automakers do it with most of their cars, people just happen to pay more attention to EVs.
NeilBlanchard 11:08PM (11/17/2009)
Hi,
My only sticking point with the i-MiEV is that it is rear wheel drive. Other than that, it is great, as far as I can tell.
Sincerely, Neil
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Ralph 2:22AM (11/18/2009)
Mitsu should just market this as the Jellybean because that's what people are going to call it anyway. Could even provide some true Jellybean colors along with the 'regular' colors for the more reserved.
This car has the very real potential to lift Mitsu out of their current quagmire.
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Doug 4:11AM (11/18/2009)
Anyone know what kind of charge connectors are being used on this UK trial version?
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David Martin 8:15AM (11/18/2009)
In the UK the standard outlet is 220 volts and 15 amps, so charging is a lot easier in good time than in the US.
Our cooker curcuits are 30 amps, so if you put one of those in the garage you could charge even faster.
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David Martin 7:46PM (11/18/2009)
Sorry, s/be 240 volt in the UK, not 220 volt.
I have just checked on the MItsubishi UK site - they are hoping to get 25 more in early 2010, and more later in the year.
Leasing is £350 per month.
They do not have to pay road tax, for parking or the London congestion charge.
For a London driver who does 12k a year you would save maybe
£165pm at 30mpg for petrol - you don't get high mileage in heavy traffic.
The congestion charge at £5per day might save you around £125pm, and no tax for a small car compared to a modern very efficient one only around £5pm
Your cost is £350pm, plus £10 for electric.
So your net is about £65pm for leasing a car.
Outstanding value for London drivers who can get their hands on one, and even with no congestion charge outside of London not too bad for city drivers elsewhere at around £200pm.
OK if you drive short distances most days, and use another car for long haul.
The 100 mile range is on the Japanese fuel cycle - ie completely unrealistic.
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/imiev/
So you need to do around 33 miles a day on average to make it pay, and never need to go more than around 70 miles on any particular day, or at least not without having access to a power point to recharge, and a gap in driving of several hours to do so.
HenkFromHolland 3:38PM (11/18/2009)
Nice car !
But why is the radiator grill still missing ? I don't like to see the radiator.
Peugeot and Citroën have done a better job there with the iOn and CØ.
(Thanks AutoBlog for your excellent Hi-Res pictures)
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skierpage 6:51PM (11/18/2009)
Nice car. It's faster, but smaller and $6,000 more expensive than another BEV from Japan, the Toyota RAV4 EV that was on sale TEN YEARS AGO. The lost decade.
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David Martin 7:47PM (11/18/2009)
The RAV4 EV was a loss-leader, and the price people paid had no relation to it's production costs.
wardialer 10:38PM (11/19/2009)
loss-leader.... .... .............. what?!?
obviously, low-production vehicles aren't going to realize economies of scale or economies of scope (if everything is made in-house) because factories aren't tooled and staff aren't trained to optimize the assembly line. fact is they would cost around $20,000 (or less) to make now and the battery technology/range would have been improved by at least 20%.
your point is quite obvious, but is it really a point of contention? can you elaborate a bit on "loss-leader" for us?
btw... there're many rav4-evs still on the road in california today, and the significantly lower cost of ownership brings the cost of this vehicle closer to parity with what it was sold for then.
keep in mind its an EV retrofit and not a vehicle designed from the ground-up, like the EV1.
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David Martin 9:58AM (11/20/2009)
I would have thought my comment self-explicatory, since I was replying to one saying that the RAV2 EV was $6k less expensive than the MiEV.
It was produced solely to show willing in respect of Californian emission standards, whereas the MiEV is the start of a real production run