Mitsubishi eK X electric car hits Australian roads
Mitsubishi Australia imports single example of budget EV micro-car to study market, possible launchAttracted by its low price and zero emissions but concerned about a low ANCAP star rating, Mitsubishi has gone ahead and landed a Mitsubishi ek X EV electric kei car in Australia.
The five-door, four-seater, battery-electric ek X arrived in Adelaide by ship last week and will be used as a research tool by Mitsubishi Motors Australia as it grapples with the future of urban mobility.
The ek X is likely to be used in clinics with consumers, shown off to dealers and will potentially be loaned out to media for drive impressions.
“I am trying to take a pulse of society and where society is at and how serious we are about EVs,” said Mitsubishi Motors Australia president and CEO Shaun Westcott.
“I have a car that’s ready to go.”
Having said that, if the ek X did get the green light for Australia, carsales understands it would be unlikely to be seen here before a significant facelift or even the next generation launches.
While kei cars are massively popular in Japan, there have been several attempts to sell them in Australia without success, including the ek X EV’s predecessor, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car, which was discontinued in 2013 after a three-year stint.
A co-development with the Nissan Dayz, the current petrol-powered Mitsubishi ek has been around since 2019 in Japan, but the ek X EV only arrived in 2022.
The ek X EV measures up at 3.4m long and 1.5 wide, weighs in at 1080kg and powers the front wheels via a 47kW/195Nm e-motor.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia flagged its interest in the ek X EV earlier this year, when it offered Aussie automotive journalists including carsales the chance to drive it in Tokyo.
It could retail here for about $30,000, reducing the entry price for a new EV from roughly $40,000 today.
“Entry-level cars are withering and dying right now. Affordability is an issue at the top of mind for Australians right now. We can hardly afford houses and soon we won’t be able to afford cars,” said Westcott.
“Is there a line somewhere that goes a small city car, electric vehicle, range around the city, not meant for the open road? Is there a place for that? … I haven’t got a definitive answer for that yet.”
Its zero emissions would also potentially help Mitsubishi comply with a forthcoming CO2 standard, depending on how that is structured.
On the flipside, the tiny kei car would not currently meet the protocols to achieve a maximum five-star ANCAP result.
“The challenge we have and it’s a dilemma I still haven’t got my head around is the whole five-star thing,” admitted Westcott.
“It meets Japanese safety requirements; the problem is, it doesn’t meet ANCAP requirements and where we have to sit at at the moment is the cost of making that car a five-star car pushes the price to the point where it would hardly become an entry-level car anymore.”
Related: Tokyo EV taste test: Mitsubishi ek X
Related: Mitsubishi i-MiEV to bow out
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