Mitsubishi Motors Starts Mass-Producing Electric Car

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211) on Thursday began producing the i MiEV at its main plant in Okayama Prefecture, becoming the world's first carmaker to mass-produce a practical electric vehicle for general consumers.

The company aims to roll out 2,000 units in fiscal 2009 and 5,000 the following year. Deliveries are expected to start in late July for corporate customers.

The i MiEV was developed based on the carmaker's "i" minivehicle. The new four-seater can plug into regular home outlets, travel 160km on a single charge and hit speeds of up to 130kph.

Equipped with lithium-ion batteries jointly developed with GS Yuasa Corp. (6674) and other firms, the i MiEV is powered by an electric motor instead of an engine and emits zero carbon dioxide when driving. When including the charging process, the car produces 70% fewer CO2 emissions than standard gasoline-based autos.

Including the government subsidy for green automobiles, the i MiEV will sell for about 3 million yen.

(The Nikkei June 4 evening edition)