Mitsubishi cuts price of i-MiEV electric car

Mitsubishi is expected to slash the price of its i-MiEV electric car by more than $13,000 as the car maker forecasts a dramatic drop in the price of battery technology in the coming years (see separate story).

As Mitsubishi confirmed retail sales of its i-MiEV electric car yesterday, it was still in the final stages of negotiating the price. It expected the final cost to sneak under $50,000, a company spokesman said.

The 110 i-MiEVs sold in Australia to date – typically to government and business fleets – cost $63,000 over a three year lease which required the vehicles to be returned after that period.

The new 2011 models, which come with extra safety features such as side and curtain airbags and stability control, will be sold outright to private buyers, and will not need to be returned. They will also come with Mitsubishi’s full five-year warranty (10 years on powertrain).

Mitsubishi is also considering an extended warranty on the battery to allay concerns about the life of the lithium-ion powerpack, which Mitsubishi says will retain 80 per cent of its charge capacity after 10 years.

Even though the new and old i-MiEV models are technically identical Mitsubishi says it is not expecting a backlash from the first 110 "early adopter" buyers -- the Carsales Network among them -- who paid more for their cars and need to return them after three years.

"We were up front with them all the way along ... ever since our first presentation we have said this is new technology, the prices will come tumbling on this over the next few years," said vice president of corporate strategy at Mitsubishi Australia, Paul Stevenson.

"We didn’t force these cars on anyone. They wanted it. There [are] people out there who are just early adopters. There are people out there who went out and spent $10,000 on a plasma TV. Would I do that? No way, but [there are customers] who actually want to get into [electric cars]."

Mitsubishi Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher said: "Nearly all the cars went to corporations or government departments ... people used them as a marketing tool. In fact it’s fairly rare for an organisation that hasn’t really had a great run with publicity [with] these vehicles."

The 2011 model is identified externally by new wheels. Other equipment changes include the return of a conventional key after a number of owners of the previous model (which came with a sensor key) routinely left the silent car ‘on’ by mistake after they parked it, draining the battery in the process.

Despite the sharp price, Mitsubishi Australia has only set a conservative sales target of five i-MiEVs per month (60 a year) when the company sold 110 in its first 12 months at a higher price.

"There is only one dealer in each capital city at the moment, and we plan to expand that, but there are also limitations on supply," said Stevenson. "We’ll see how it goes."