Mitsubishi i MiEV

Instead of focusing on hybrid propulsion, the company is hoping to be a leader in all-electric vehicles by readying a minicar for 2010 launch.

Three years ago, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced that it aimed to launch an electric car based on its i mini-car in 2010. The car would be named i MiEV, the suffix standing for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle.

Managing Director Tetsuro Aikawa, who heads product development at Mitsubishi, calculates that that his company's i MiEV electric minicar operates on ¥1 (about $0,009 at $1.00/¥107 exchange rates) per km on low-rate night electricity, while the conventional i model consumes ¥15 ($0.14) worth of regular-grade gasoline running around ¥150 ($1.40) per liter for the same distance. That is l/15th the fuel cost.