The electric vehicle revolution has started – the first production examples of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV have arrived in the UK.
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is the first production electric city car made by a mainstream manufacturer; we’ve tested the i-MiEV and we’re pleased to report that it’s excellent to drive.
The multi award-winning i-MiEV is a real car that seats 4 adults, with 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.
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 all been taken, and 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.
The first 25 full production all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEVs which have arrived at Bristol’s Royal Portbury Docks are destined to hit the road on December 12th 2009 as part of a West Midlands based government trial.
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.
The i-MiEV’s left Japan by boat six weeks ago and their progress has been followed via Mitsubishi Motors UK’s i-MiEV Facebook fan page.
Working on a day-to-day basis with the very latest environmental and climate change issues makes Green-Car-Guide.com very aware of the need to make cars more energy efficient. However we also acknowledge that people love their cars and want progress and a better quality of life.
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