High charge for all-electric vehicles
Mitsubishi I-MiEV: UK release shows how far all-elecs have come -- and, at £35K, how far they have to goThink electric cars are just around the corner? There's a little way to go yet, looking at the price Mitsubishi's asking for its i-MiEV four-door city car.
The i-MiEV is already on sale in the UK for £35,000. For that you get a tiny four seater -- 3.4 metres long -- weighing a modest 1080 kilograms, including the high-tech lithium ion power pack, which delivers up to 160 kilometres between charges. The battery is the main contributor to the cost of such vehicles.
It has mightily impressed pundits, which is fortunate, because it's priced well into BMW 3 Series, even 5 Series, territory. Enough, then, to buy your way into some of the world's cleanest, fastest and most frugal diesel technology.
Indeed, you'll get change from it if you buy three diesel Minis. Or if you opt for a Hummer H3, you'll have £7000 to give to the Al Gore fund. That's quite some apology. Or several months' fuel.
The i-MiEV isn't even on the Australian horizon yet. Despite being the first fully crash-tested car of its kind to go on sale in the UK, Mitsubishi's local spokespeople have told media it needs extensive evaluation and modification to fit Australian design rules. This has the added benefit of letting overseas markets give the company the economies of scale it needs to get the price of that battery pack down.
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