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Mitsubishi i-MiEV Could Come With Sub-$30,000 Sticker

 
2,022 views Jul 12, 2010
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Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Mitsubishi i-MiEV

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With any new technology there’s always a steep initial price as low supply and even lower demand play a delicate balancing act that will eventually determine whether the technology lives or dies. The same is true for electric vehicles (EVs), which are still considerably more expensive than regular gasoline powered cars, even with government funded incentive programs.

Take the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which has already gone on sale in Japan and is about to be launched in Europe. In Japan the tiny urban runabout sells for about $53,000 and in German prices will go as high as $59,000--about the same price as a fully-loaded luxury sedan--but for its U.S. launch, pegged for the fall of 2011, Mitsubishi is hoping to reduce prices to less than $30,000. This may still seem steep for such a tiny car but this is before the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs is taken into account.

The information comes from Mitsubishi’s director of electric-vehicle operations, Joe Delello, who spoke recently with Automotive News.

"We're very keen on being as competitive as possible," he told reporters. "We certainly want to make it as close as possible to the reach of many intenders."

They will certainly need to cut prices drastically. The bigger and more conventional 2012 Nissan Leaf EV, which arrives this December, will have a pricetag of about $32,780 (also excluding the tax credit). To reduce the prices, Mitsubishi is looking for lower lithium-ion battery costs spawned from increase production, and it will also sell rebadged versions of the i-MiEV through the French brands Peugeot and Citroen.

[Automotive News, sub req’d]





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Comments (7)

  1. By B-Man Posted: 7/13/2010 2:43am PDT

    Twould be hard ta get me outta my '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, but this little micro-might Mitsubishi i-MiEV could possibly do it. This and BYD's all-electric crossover e6 could both be in the running. BYD's claims of a 205 mile range for their 5-seat crossover e6 do seem a tad bit far-fetched, yes.
     
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  2. By ev enthusiast Posted: 7/13/2010 7:17am PDT

    has nissan come out with firm pricing for the leaf ? awhile back, there were rumors of it being in the low 20s, at least out here in the states.
    nissan has a more trusted name than mitsubishi, as far as cars go, and the leaf is bigger.
    so i dont see mitsubishi being able to get as much for their ev, as nissan can. of course, i realize that nissan is all sold out.
    the coda is a mid-size sedan, so they arent competing directly with the leaf, but i think that their current price is still too high, when compared to the leaf.
    but all this has been just talk. i want to see what the actual prices are.
    if the leaf were selling for 20, i think the mitsubishi better be coming in at 16-17, while the midsize coda could probably go for about 25.
     
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  3. By Eletruk Posted: 7/13/2010 10:01am PDT

    The Nissan Leaf MSRP is $32,780 for the standard SV version, add $940 for the SL which adds some extras, then subtract the $7500 federal tax rebate to get $25,280.
     
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  4. By ev enthusiast Posted: 7/13/2010 6:07pm PDT

    tax credit ? to me, that implies an amount deducted from the tax that you pay ? what if someone doesnt pay that much in federal tax ?
    for those that do, the bottom line price will probably be seen as a good deal, when you factor into it the savings in fuel cost and maintenance cost of a gas car.
     
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  5. By James Posted: 7/13/2010 7:18pm PDT

    What about the Ford Focus BEV? They are supposedly selling 10,000 BEV’s in 2011. Has anyone seen pricing on it? Is the 10k in 2011 rumor correct?
     
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  6. By B-Man Posted: 7/14/2010 11:53am PDT

    From what I understand, the U.S. Fed. Guv-Mint offers a $7,500 tax "rebate" for purchasers of all-electric/hybrid/and even Honda fuel cell vehicles purchased in the U.S. for U.S. usage. How that figures up against your taxable income depends on how they've written up the rebate rules. Go to irs.gov and look it up or contact a tax professional. It's an impressive offer from BO, really.
     
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  7. By JKD Posted: 7/14/2010 12:20pm PDT

    @ ev enthusiast - Most will not qualify for the full $7.5K as you suspect. If you make too much then you get hit with ATM and you can't claim it either. The window for the full amount is very narrow. California and Georgia have the 5K credit that can be spread over a few years but the Fed credit looks better on paper than in reality :-(
     
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