Mitsubishi I-Miev 2011 News

Mitsubishi Motors Corp executives in Japan have cast doubts over the rollout of the car to Australian buyers as early as next year.  Mitsubishi Australia has been pushing hard to bring the high-tech i-MIEV hatch early next year after a positive local response to the car several months ago.But the president of Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Osamu Masuko, said an export deal has not been signed.  His views were backed up yesterday by the company2s managing director in charge of overseas operations, Kazuyuki Kikuchi."We do have to look at the support from the governments involved, also because the technology is new and requires a totally different type of infrastructure," Kikuchi said.  "We also need to see the development of those infrastructures in the markets the vehicle will be sold in.  Our electric car business department is looking at the introduction but unfortunately to date we have not seen any strong move from the government about infrastructure or support mechanisms."Unlike France and Norway and other European countries, Australia is not providing incentives to help the rollout of electric infrastructure or even tax incentives for electric cars.  The i-MIEV hatch will not be cheap, with a price expected to be close to $70,000.Mitsubishi Australia boss, Rob McEniry, said the company has had strong support from State governments and various local councils, as well as private companies who want the car.  He said the company was still on track to launch the car, despite Japan2s concerns."We have heard nothing to the contrary that we won2t be able to get it," he said.  The i-MIEV hatch will not be cheap, with its price expected to be close to $70,000.  It has a range of 160km and can be recharged to full power overnight or via a fast-charging station that can provide 80 per cent capacity in just 45 minutes.

We’ve blended all the highlights in a one-minute tasting plate. All the glamour, all the glitz and definitely all the green gadgetry.The LF-A is being touted as the new Lexus sportscar and expected to go up against Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and other high performance supercars.Apart from these almost-production ready coupes, the show is shaping up to be a restrained affair as carmakers continue to battle the fallout from the global financial crisis. Just three smaller foreign brands, Caterham, BMW Alpina and Lotus are attending this year.In 2007 26 foreign brands lined up with the Japanese carmakers at the show. Despite the low attendance by carmakers, Tokyo is traditionally a show full of quirky city cars and concepts. Electric cars, from plug-in hybrids to full-blow electric vehicles remain popular, following on from the green theme at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.What's Hot:TOYOTAFT-EV II: This is the second generation of Toyota's electric car concept with a futuristic edge. Drive-by-wire technology and a solar panel on the roof give this urban commuter a distinct edge. Looks a little like the iQ sold in Europe. FT-86 Concept: Look beyond the lines are you'll see Toyota's new Celica. The rear-drive compact sportscar will borrow Subaru's 2.0-litre boxer four.CATERHAMThe world debut of the CSR 175 EU4, a more powerful version of its CSR.LEXUSThe much talked about LF-A is rumoured to get a 370kW V10, making it the most powerful production Lexus made. The front "mid-engine" layout is said to deliver outstanding handling.SUBARUThe Hybrid Tourer Concept is being touted as a new incarnation of the SVX. We hope for Subaru's sake it will not carry the SVX tag if it every makes it into production. The Tourer is far more attractive and practical. The gullwing coupe combines the boxer four-cylinder with hybrid power. A pair of motors provide regenerative braking, pure electric drive or a combination of both. Apart from showcasing the hybrid drivetrain, the concept also has a new direct injected version of its 2.0-litre four cylinder engine, which is likely to appear in a few years.HONDALike many carmakers, Honda has spilled the beans on some of its cars. The CR-Z concept is the close to production ready version of its hybrid coupe, powered by a petrol 1.5-litre four cylinder and the same electric powerpack we see in the Civic hybrid. The Skydeck is a futuristic six-seater hybrid using ultra-light weight materials. The big wagon may provide a pointer to what the next-generation Odyssey might look like. Inside, the Skydeck has "floating" slim-line seats with entry provided by huge opening gullwing doors.NISSANCarmakers love motorcycle-inspired cars. Nissan has lifted the wraps off its Land Glider, a compact four-wheel city commuter car. The two-seater uses electric motors and the driver and passenger sit in tandem, like a motorcycle. The car also leans into corners.SUZUKIWith green a continuing theme, Suzuki's Swift hybrid is a pointer to a new plug-in hybrid for short-distances.MAZDAThe Hiroshima-based carmaker has concentrated on its new Sky Concept to showcase a new Sky-G petrol and Sky-D diesel engine, as well as a new six-speed automatic gearbox.MITSUBISHIDo not think of the Concept PX-MiEV as a new off-roader. Mitsubishi says the PX crossover just houses a new plug-in hybrid system that gets around 3.0 litres/100km. Apart from its drivetrain, the interior uses seat upholstery that kills bacteria and gets rid of offensive odours. The i-MIEV Cargo is also a new commercial van concept taken from the i-MIEV electric car.SUZUSHOYou may not have heard about it but this Japanese kit car specialist has combined a tuned 200kW 2.3-litre turbo engine from the Mazda3 MPS and a lightweight body to deliver a hot-shot sportscar, the Supasse V. The V gets an aluminum twin-tube monocoque spaceframe chassis with a fiberglass body. Suzusho is a specialist builder of lightweight sportscars with a great deal of experience with Lotus 7 replicas. The Supasse is expected to sell in Japan for around $80,000. 

The Japanese automaker showed off its tiny electric vehicle in full police livery at the recent National Police Show in the UK. Mitsubishi says it has "inundated" with requests from British police departments to put the vehicle through local trials. The first i-MIEV police package will be used by the West Midlands Police.

But the i-MIEV-based Cargo remains a wish-list car for the Adelaide-based local Mitsubishi operations. Mitsubishi Australia's chief of brand management, Paul Unerkov, reckons the Cargo would have great potential locally.But with demand for the i-MIEV already outstripping supply in Japan and the factory running flat out to build batteries for the city car, he says any prospect of a Cargo-style electric van being sold locally are a long way off. "The Cargo could certainly work here," he says. "But the issue is battery supply. "Mitsubishi is tripling production of the batteries for the i-MIEV to meet demand."Demand for the i-MIEV in Japan has also meant its arrival into local showrooms has been pushed back to the first quarter of next year. But Mitsubishi Australia chief, Rob McEniry, is confident he will get the numbers he wants and the car will arrive with a price point close to the Toyota Prius. "We are working on our allocations now," he says.The Cargo, along with the PX-MIEV concept all-wheel drive, will be unveiled at next week's Tokyo Motor Show. Like the i-MIEV, the Cargo should have a range of 160km and top speed of 130km/h, making it perfect for inner-city delivery applications.At 3395mm long and 1860mm high, the van is 36mm longer and 260mm higher than the cute i-MIEV. By reconfiguring the rear area Mitsubishi has been able to free up 1743 litres of space.Like the four-door, the Cargo has copied the original's curvaceous front section. But from the B-pillar back, the electric car morphs into a high-riding boxy wagon that gives it a distinctive on-road presence. The car's big plus is its boxy load-carrying area. Mitsubishi has ensured that every centimetre of available space has been utilised. The height of the compartment floor has also been designed to facilitate loading and unloading of luggage and make it more user-friendly. Inside, the cabin shares the clean and simple elements of the i-MIEV.The i-MIEV's electric engine develops 47kW/180Nm and drives the rear wheels. Its permanent magnet synchronous engine is supported by a lithium-ion battery pack from the newly formed joint venture company Lithium Energy Japan. The car can be recharged overnight or in about 30 minutes using a quick-charge outlet. 

...when the emission-free city cars start arriving early next year.Mitsubishi Australia President and CEO Robert McEniry says that while numbers of the iMiev will initially be heavily restricted and expensive the company has scheduled a rollout that will start with loans to companies and governments and move to leasing arrangements by the end of next year."We have identified some high-profile companies and authorities that are keen to utilise the electric technology and for that high visibility market the cars will initially be loaned for short terms but by the end of the year we would expect to have a number out on lease arrangements," McEniry says.McEniry says that as production increases and unit costs fall there will be greater and greater opportunities for people to access the iMiev. "There is no doubt that within a relatively short time it will become far more affordable for the average private buyers." "We are continuing our deliberations with our parent company to make sure we grab some,” McEniry says. "They are very, very keen to support us and while it may be very difficult to get them into Australia this year to meet my own schedule, at the very latest it will be the first quarter of next year and then we will be part of the production schedule from then on. "I guess one of our stated objectives was to be the first to be in Australia with an electric car ... and I think we will achieve that."On a more immediate front McEniry is bullish about Australia's new car sales fighting back as the bite of the global financial crisis begins to ease and consumer confidence grows.While conceding that it may be a while before the record 1,000,000 market numbers of the past couple of years are revisited, McEniry says that early 2009 predictions of an 800,000 year are going to prove pessimistic."At the beginning of the year you probably heard us talking about 820,00 annualised for the first half of the year and 850 (thousand) annualised for the second half of the year,” McEniry says. "Our forecast of the market now is around 900,000 and our own sales will be a lot closer to last year's 59,000 than we were predicting."Such has been Mitsubishi's financial revival since closing its production facilities in Australia and moving to an importer status, McEniry believes the company would be an attractive target for a takeover if it were publicly listed."We have cash in the bank, a strong business with growth and good assets ... oh yes, we would be a very attractive takeover target right now."We have done a lot of work in restructuring the company and eliminating costs, rationalising our product lines — in terms of product lines and the products themselves. Inventories have been reduced significantly, the company itself is becoming right-sized and we are instigating a very customer-centric culture."We are getting improved profitability, improved liquidity and improved net worth month on month. So we are really starting to strenthen. Importantly for us, when we look at our product portfolio our products are all in the growth segments of the market and the products we will be introducing over the next 12 months or so — Challenger and another one (a sub-compact SUV) — just reinforces our products in the growth segment."The Challenger SUV will be rushed into the market in November so dealers can take advantage of the government's 50 per cent incentive bonus which expires at the end of December.And in a lightly-veiled reference to the demise of the company's ill-starred 380 large sedan, McEniry said that part of the company's success came from the segments they were not competing in. "We consider ourselves somewhat fortunate that we are not in the declining segments any more."

Mitsubishi has unveiled two new concepts — the all-electric i-MIEV Cargo and a new Outlander-size plug-in hybrid off-roader called the PX-MIEV. Both cars are expected to make it into production in Japan next year and on sale in other markets by 2011.The PX is powered by a plug-in hybrid system, which significantly extends the frequency a hybrid vehicle is driven in EV mode, returning fuel economy of around 3.0 litres/100km.The car uses a new all-wheel drive system call S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control) that has an electrically powered yaw control that transfers torque to the rear left and right wheels. Petrol power is provided by an 85kW/125Nm 1.6-litre MIVEC four cylinder which can power the front wheels as well as work as a generator.Electric power is provided by two permanent magnet synchronous motors for both the front and rear wheels.At low speeds though, the car uses electric power only to the front wheels. The PX also uses dedicated drive control system that selects the best drive mode — front or all-wheel drive — depending on the driving conditions, through integrated control of the EV components and the petrol engine.As with the production i-MiEV, the PX has a three-way battery charging system using either a 100-volt or a 200-volt domestic supply or a high-power quick-charging station. The car is also fitted with an electronically controlled air suspension that gives the driver choice of three height modes — auto, high or low.The styling of the PX gives a hint at what the next-generation Outlander could look like with a body that uses a newly-developed metal colour that gives the car a metal shell-like appearance. The spoke-style wheels are designed to assist cooling and aerodynamics.Inside the cabin has deliberately been designed like an aircraft cockpit to improve the driver's concentration and has an instrument panel that curves around the driver. LED lighting is used for the dashboard and door trim while the front and rear lights are LED.The i-MIEV Cargo is derived from the production i-MIEV but gains a hug van-size cargo area instead of conventional rear doors. The Cargo's luggage space is 1350mm wide, 1180 mm deep and 1100 mm high with a flat floor. The height of the compartment floor has been designed to facilitate loading and unloading of luggage and make it more user-friendly. 

Two years ago I walked more than 20 kilometres in two days to cover every single brand and car at the Frankfurt Motor Show, from the towering five-story Mercedes-Benz pavilion to the tiny space reserv

Mercedes-Benz has just confirmed a battery-powered version of its SLS supercar, also known as the gullwing, and Peugeot is sharing the technology in the upcoming Mitsubishi iMiEV.But the biggest questions on the electric front are still hanging — how and where will these plug-in cars get their power? "It's a chicken-and-egg question. The trend to electrification is clearly there. But what we are focussed on is the barriers to adoption," says Ben Keneally, head of external affairs at Better Place Australia.He predicts a major breakthrough in the coming week when Better Place announces a new development to link drivers to the charging and battery-change network it is planning, firstly in Norway and Israel and then in Australia."We've really got the positioning around being able to deploy hundreds of thousands of charge points around the place. We're looking to bring that together with the software. It's the network of charge spots and switch stations. It's not just about location, it's about the mode of charging the battery."Better Place is promising big things and Keneally believes the pieces are coming together, although there are plenty of boxes still to be ticked in Australia. "Once we have Israel up and operating we are a long way to getting 100 per cent here. You cannot underestimate the demonstration effect," he says.And the Better Place strategy includes a targeted approach to converting people to electric cars. "With two-car households we'll be targeting one of the cars as a start. With any sort of disrutive technology you have to build people's confidence. And that's part of our plan." The next pieces of that puzzle will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week. It promises to be an interesting presentation.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Electric vehicles are hampered by limited range and the slow process of recharging their batteries. But rather than wait for the infrastructure to be established, car companies are forging ahead with plans for electric vehicles.In the next couple of years our market will see electric vehicles from Mitsubishi, Nissan and GM.So what do motorists do about charging them? Most batteries take about eight hours to fully charge on 240-volt mains power and have a range below 200km, which means they need recharging almost daily. Even quick-charging high-voltage solutions can take up to 30 minutes to get a battery up to 80 per cent charge.Motorists are used to fuelling the tank on their internal combustion engines at a convenient service station in about five minutes, so having to stop for half an hour would be a huge impost.Nissan, whose Leaf electric hatchback goes into production next year and will arrive here in 2011, believes motorists will have to change the way they live with their vehicle, but can still enjoy convenient motoring.There are several options for recharging electric vehicles such as mains trickle charging, quick-charging stations and even battery replacement facilities. Which solution emerges as the most popular will be much like the 1980s battle between VHS and Beta technology or the current DVD versus Blue-Ray.Nissan global zero emissions business unit general manager Hideaki Watanabe says he doesn't care which option wins, but believes all could succeed and live together. "It will be a race between all the options. There could be some other new solutions for infrastructure as well," he said. "It may depend on which one becomes mature first and which one the customers want."He sees a future with electric vehicles as a blend of these solutions with mains trickle charging at home overnight when electricity charges are low and top-up quick charges in public places such as shopping centre carparks throughout the day. "Some retailers are showing an interest in EV," he said."Malls are interested in providing the infrastructure to keep people shopping longer. Maybe shops will offer discounts on charging if they buy products from them like they do now with parking charges."However, he said the industry also needed government help with establishing infrastructure as well as providing incentives for motorists to go electric such as reduced stamp duty and registration, priority lanes, parking concessions and education of the public. "You have to give some benefits to people to switch to electricity," he said.He isn't concerned with the criticism that vehicles powered by electricity from coal-fired power stations — such as in Australia — only shift the emissions from the street to the factory. "I don't care about how the electricity is generated," he said. "It's like the chicken and the egg. Do we wait for environmentally friendly electricity generation infrastructure or not?"I believe we have a responsibility to introduce a zero emission vehicle now. If we introduced the zero emission vehicle then people and governments and the private sector will do their part to provide zero-emission power."

The new all-electric Mitsubishi i-MIEV is about to go on sale in the Japanese domestic market for $43,000 – more than its bigger hybrid rivals from Toyota and Honda.But despite the micro-car's high entry price, Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson, Lenore Fletcher believes it will still be popular when it arrives here, possibly next year. She does not believe its price will be a barrier for acceptance.Local pricing is not yet confirmed but Fletcher says judging by the reaction of 150 people at recent drive days around the country, the car will be a hit. "If we had 20 i-MIEVs tomorrow they would all be sold," she says. "We've had people trying to give us firm orders for the car."Participants were surprised by the power and refinement of the little hatch, she says. And she is confident prices will come down as these electric cars become more common and production ramps up to achieve economies of scale. Mitsubishi Australia is bouyed by the fact that many fleets are interested in the car to sell a green message.The rear-drive i-MIEV develops 47kW, the same as the three-cylinder petrol-powered Mitsubishi "i" but delivers 180Nm from zero revs compared to the petrol car's 94Nm. It also contributes 70 per cent less C02 emissions than a similarly sized hatchback.The car has been fully certified to Australia Design Rules and has compliance so Mitsubishi Australia is just waiting for the nod from Japan.It has a range of about 160km from its lithium-ion battery pack. With about 85 per cent of commuters travelling less than 100km a day, Fletcher says the i-MIEV is an ideal city car.Just 2000 i-MIEVs will be built in Japan this year but the car's popularity has already prompted Mitsubishi to lift production. Next year it will build 5000 cars and by 2013 it hopes to build 30,000 a year.Mitsubishi, like many leading carmakers pushing the electric button, faces a lack of supply of battery components for their vehicles. The new Toyota Prius goes on sale in July and is expected to cost slightly more than the Honda Insight. Honda Australia is aiming for a sub-$30,000 price for the Insight and had originally hoped to have it on sale here this year. However, the car's popularity overseas has pushed out its local launch to the second half of 2010.In Japan, the i-MIEV will initially be sold to fleets with private sales starting later this year. Apart from Australia, it will be sold in Europe and North America.Mitsubishi, along with Nissan Australia, wants more government incentives to get people into electric cars.