Electricnick, The EV Revolution

The future for Mitsubishi is clear, it is with the electric drive and the company has a road map and plans.

The gist is that a few car makers, mostly smaller ones have a clearer plan as to the way they envision the future.  For Mitsubishi, most of its electric vehicle, EV future car will evolve around the iMiEV platform.

The Chameleon iMiEV Platform.  Mitsubishi is not reinventing the wheel when they thought of the iMiEV.  In essence, they are applying the same technique used in the automobile industry of sharing components and platforms to create different models.  Therefore, the Sports Air will be the based iMiEV platform and will be a sportier version of it.

Planning Ahead.  The company is moving fast in order to be a serious contender in tomorrow’s EV world and has announced the introduction of 5 other electric models by fiscal 2013, produced upwards of 30,000 electric vehicles and should be profitable, via GreenCarCongress.  This is where it gets interesting, the European i-MiEV will happen for the second half of fiscal 2010, followed by an electric commercial vehicle for transport goods in fiscal 2010.  For 2011, the company is planning larger full-sized EV models.  After that, there will be a plug-in hybrid, PHEV sport utility vehicle, SUV by fiscal 2013, followed by a sport model of the i-MiEV.

Strategic Collaborations.  If everyone talks about the Renault-Nissan alliance, Mitsubishi has also announced a strategic partnership with the PSA Peugeot Citroën and plans on supplying its EV platform by fiscal 2010.

It looks as if the company is making the right moves and building the right partnerships in order to become a relevant key player in the EV field.  Their iMiEV has received a lot of publicity and is being currently tested in fleets.  The future looks good for Mitsubishi.