Mitsubishi Motors launches two new versions of the i-MiEV

Mitsubishi Motors Corp launched two new versions of the i-MiEV electric car recently- an even more affordable entry-level “M” version and a higher grade “G” version that promises to go further.

The automaker will buy the smaller-capacity lithium-ion batteries for the i-MiEV’s “M” grade from Toshiba Corp and continue using batteries made by its joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp and GS Yuasa Corp for the “G.”

In earlier reports, there have been news of how electric cars are used to transport supplies to disaster stricken areas in Japan.

“At first we wondered whether EVs could be useful in the disaster zones, and it turned out that they were because gasoline was scarce at the beginning,” President Osamu Masuko said. The Mitsubishi group loaned 89 i-MiEVs free to the region’s governments and others helping with relief efforts.

“Once enough gasoline became available we asked whether we could have them back, but we were told they were still useful so not one has been returned yet,” he said.

To Masuko, debates over the pick-up rate of electric cars in a country that is still recovering from a nuclear crisis,  facing tight electricity supply and the possibility of higher electricity prices, merely highlights the need to develop renewable energy and multiple power sources. As a useful source of power, electric cars can be used in emergencies by discharging electricity from their batteries. Perhaps, the plan that Mitsubishi Motors have in mind can be realised someday. They hope to develop and market a portable converter with enough output capacity to allow electric cars to power household electrics such as rice cookers and washing machines. Currently, they already have a converter for laptop computers and other products that require less electricity. Electric cars, he said, could also be a useful source of power in an emergency by discharging electricity from their batteries.

From Reuters

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