Real-world EVs less than a decade away

Cheaper, more energy-dense batteries are key to the success of electric vehicles. That’s news to nobody, but Mitsubishi Motor Corporation (MMC) President, Osamu Masuko, has suggested that the timeline for a real-world range/price balance could be just 10 years away.

In Australia to acknowledge Mitsubishi Australia’s performance during the Japanese 2013-14 fiscal year (April 1-March 30), Masuko-san spoke briefly to motoring.com.au on a wide range of subjects, not the least of which was the company’s focus on all things electric.

By way of demonstrating the pace of progress on electric vehicle technology, Masuko-san revealed the change in battery pricing and range expectations in the period since the release of the company’s iMiEV in 2009.

“At the time of the implementation of the production of EV back in 2009, the cost of the battery was 2.1 million Yen per unit. This is almost the same price as [an entire] Toyota Prius at that time,” Masuko explained

“Now it [the battery price] has become less than 800,000 Yen. [And that] Will become lower and lower from now on,” he stated.

In the same period, according to the Mitsubishi boss, the range delivered by the same battery has grown from around 150 to 200km, a 25 per cent improvement.

But according to the MMC boss, this is just the start. Much higher targets for both range and price reduction have been set for his company and others by regulators in Mitsubishi’s home market.

It’s these that should provide the wherewithal for a step change in EV amenity, he asserts.

“There is a target set by the Japanese government for developing these batteries, of which the capacity [range improvement] is seven-fold. And the cost should be one 20th of original cost!” Masuko-san explained.

“A seven-fold increase in capacity means more than 1000km range.

“Once we see such things being realised in our near future, the petrol engine cannot compete against such things,” he opined.

Although clearly an EV evangelist, Masuko-san is also realistic.

“This [range] cannot be realised by just doing some improvement based on the current battery technology. I think it needs to be done by the next generation of batteries.

“Obviously, towards this goal, globally, battery producers are actually competing and developing and working very hard… Rigorously. So, say, [in the] next-generation [batteries, which] we anticipate in 10 years’ time, we might see a very dramatic change,” Masuko stated.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that internal combustion cars (including Mitsubishis) will cease to exist. EV uptake, Masuko says, will be: “Depending on the country and depending on their readiness for the infrastructure…”

“Perhaps some countries may not have, or may not be able to provide, such [EV charging] infrastructure in a short period of time. So probably the coexistence between the electric vehicle and the petrol vehicle should be, or might be, the picture,” he stated.