Central Illinois To Be Test Bed For Mitsubishi I Electric Vehicle

Just the Facts:

• Central Illinois will be the first U.S. location to test a fleet of Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric car.
• Mitsubishi has committed to supplying 1,000 i MiEVs to the Bloomington-Normal communities by 2014.
• Charging station maker Eaton Corp. is working with officials in Normal to develop a citywide charging network to be installed this year.

Mitsubishi is expanding its operations in the central Illinois town of Normal, and the area's movers and shakers are responding by giving the automaker a place in the heartland to sell its upcoming i MiEV electric city car.

San Francisco, New York and Chicago might seem like better places in the U.S. for the little four-seater designed with narrow, parking-restricted Japanese streets in mind, but the Bloomington-Normal metro region just southeast of Peoria is first to climb onboard the i MiEV bandwagon.

The automaker and the Bloomington-Normal Electric Vehicle Task Force announced this morning that Mitsubishi has committed to supplying 1,000 i MiEVs — all built in Japan, not Normal — to the twin communities by 2014.

Mitsubishi North American President Shinichi Kurihara told an audience of community leaders in Normal this morning that the company will supply at least 300 of the cars to dealers in the region each year until the commitment is fulfilled.

As part of the Bloomington-Normal program, the task force and officials in Normal — home to Illinois State University — have vowed to work to help educate residents about electric-drive vehicles and to install an EV-charging network to facilitate use of the vehicles. In advance of the arrival of models designed for the U.S., the city of Normal also has agreed to lease a pair of European-specification i MiEVs starting next month and make them available to local organizations for test-drives.

Charging station maker Eaton Corp. is working with officials in Normal to develop a citywide charging network to be installed this year.

Additionally, the task force is developing an "EVTown.org" Web site to serve the region as a one-stop EV information and shopping center.

The Bloomington-Normal EV Task Force said it also is asking other automakers to partner in the region's "EV Town" initiative.

Source: Inside Line