The iMiEV stood proudly on the Mitsubishi stand at the Brussels show. The car will be on our roads as soon as 2010!
On the latest Brussels Salon we also had a word with the people of Mitsubishi Belgium, who proudly presented their iMiEV concept car. The name stands broadly for “I”(nnovative) Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle, the first “I” also indicating that the car is based on the existing Mitsubishi “I” series compact car. The electric car is virtually ready for production, and this year some 2000 iMiEV’s will find their way on Japanese roads. The car is 100 % electrical, and can be quickly recharged up to 80 % of its battery capacity in a mere 30 minutes. This can be done in the special “quick charge” mode, for which the car is equipped with a special power plug.

The present "i" series proves to be an excellent basis for the electrical version of this charming urban car, providing quite exhilarating performance with a top speed of not less than 130 kmh.  

But the car has also a completely standard AC connection, so you can fully recharge the car in “normal” mode during the night. The cute-looking iMiEV has a radius of 144 kilometers on its fully charged high-density lithium-ion batteries, and can carry up to 4 persons. The performance is quite startling, providing very brisk accelerations and a top speed of 130 kms.  

When one opens the car floor lid, ony the inverter and the charger unit can be seen...  

 Lithium Energy Japan…

Understandably, state-of –the art battery technology is needed to build an EV. Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation joined forces with the Japanese company GS Yuasa with to establish "Lithium Energy Japan" in December of 2007.

The Lithium-Ion battery cells used in series to power the iMiEV...  

GS Yuasa has developed advanced know how and technologies in developing and building large Lithium Ion batteries, and Mitsubishi Corporation plans  to build these batteries. The joint venture has already built a dedicated battery manufacturing plant in Kusatsu (Shiga), Japan, and has started this year with an annual production of not less than 200.000 cells for the LEV50 batteries used also in the iMiEV.

… and based on the ‘i’ platform.

The electric vehicle is based on the Mitsubishi “I” compact urban car launched in 2006. The conventional 660 DOHC 12valve 3cylinder Intercooler-turbocharger MIVEC ECI-MULTI of the “I” has been replaced by the battery pack, the electric motor, invertor and transmission unit. The “I” is very suitable for this conversion, as the engine is placed centrally under the rear seat in front of the rear axle. This proves an ideal location for the electric vehicle components, and only very minor alterations were needed for the bodywork of the “I”.

The very simple and self-explaining instrument lay-out on the iMiEV...

The EV-car will be introduced on our roads in 2010, and needless to say that we are very keen to sample some driving impressions of this iMiEV…

Agreement with Peugeot…

Shortly after having finished this article, Peugeot and Mitsubishi Motor Corporation announced on March 2 that both companies have now reached an understanding that will allow PSA to partner with MMC for the development of an electric vehicle for Europe based on MMC’s i MiEV , to be manufactured by MMC and sold under Peugeot brand, in parallel to Mitsubishi’s own European i MiEV…

The two companies target the market launch of this car at the end of 2010 or the very beginning of 2011.

Instead of a Mitsubishi, you might be charging your Peugeot Electric Vehicle, thanks to an agreement between the two manufacturers for the European market...

PSA Peugeot Citroën will bring to this project its expertise in the field of electric powertrains.

One should not forget that PSA Peugeot Citroën has built up over the years an extensive knowledge of electric vehicles, as it is the largest global manufacturer of electric vehicles to date, with more than 10,000 units sold!

Hans Knol ten Bensel

This little box with plugs and wires is all you need to "refuel" your iMiEV...