According to a source close to the matter, the zero-emission i-MiEV, which launched in Japan this year with the delivery of about 50 of the electric four-seaters to government offices and companies around Tokyo, has now racked up over 1400 pre-orders, representing the entire scheduled production run for the first model year. Mitsubishi began taking pre-orders for the i-MiEV through its dealer network on July 31 and within one month had received 900 pre-orders, the source said.
Mitsubishi has said it expects to sell 5,000 i-MiEVs in Japan and export 1,000 in 2010. The company has said it wants to start selling the i-MiEV in the U.S. sometime in 2011. The automaker sees an opportunity to gain major traction in the zero-emissions-vehicle, or ZEV, arena at a time when the other major players (other than Nissan with its Leaf) are focusing on hybrids or fuel-cell vehicles.
[SOURCE:Green Car Advisor]
