More Mitsubishi electric cars to follow i-MiEV

The little city car will hit the showrooms in August with a price of ‘around $50,000’ - and a sales target of five cars per month -- but will be followed by several other electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, new Australian CEO Genichiro Nishina says.

"Mitsubishi has announced we will be launching eight new electric-powered vehicles by 2015. This includes the introduction of several hybrid vehicles in the next 12 months and we will be seeing many of these vehicles here in Australia in the future."

The new wave is likely to be led by the (Colt replacement) Global Small Car concept and the PX-MiEV SUV showcased at Geneva motor show. "We will be seeing these vehicles in Australia soon," Nishina says. "The i-MiEV isn't the end of Mitsubishi electric strategy, it is just the beginning."

Mitsubishi's vice-president of corporate strategy emphasises that the new technologies will be spreading across the entire range, from city cars like the Colt replacement, through compact and medium sedans and even SUVs such as the Outlander.

"When the successors to (our current) products come out, they will each have an alternative Drivetrain," Stevenson says.

"Once you choose which vehicle suits your lifestyle - an SUV because perhaps you want to go fishing on the weekends - it's then a matter of do you want a petrol, or a clean diesel or a hybrid or a plug-in."

"Mitsubishi is planning that by 2020, at least 20 per cent of their sales will be electric vehicles. So on a million cars per year, we're talking 200,000 EVs.

Stevenson says the initial lure for most of those buyers to move to electric and hybrid drivetrains will be savings at the bowser.

"On an Outlander plug-in hybrid, it's a 70 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency."

However he's confident that the next few years will see a drop in the price of electric vehicles - and their costliest component, the battery - to make the prospect more attractive to the average household, while range of the cars will have improved.

"Economies of scale will see the price come down. It's a new technology and any new technology when it first comes out is expensive because the volumes are small," he says.

"Battery costs will fall 70 per cent by 2015. A battery that will do about 160km (range) and costs $33,000 now will cost $10,000 by 2015 - and $3,000 by 2030."

He says battery performance will also improve 33 per cent by 2015, meaning that the range of an electric vehicle will be considerably extended beyond the 155km claimed for the i-MiEV's current lithium-ion battery and electric motor system - and the 130km/h top speed that can drain the reserves well before that point.

MITSUBISHI iMiev

Price: $48,800
Warranty: 10yr (5yr on battery)
Resale: N/A
Service: interval Six months
Motor: 47kW/180Nm with lithium ion batteries
Body: 4-door; 4-seater Weight 1080kg
Transmission: Three-mode auto, rear-wheel drive
Thirst: Seven-hour charge; 155km range