Mitsubishi Adds Electric-Car Models: One's Cheaper, One Goes Further

2012 Mitsubishi i

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Mitsubishi Motors has played the next move in the growing global electric car war by announcing that it will offer three different versions of its popular four-seat electric car.

Much like the 2012 Tesla Model S Sedan, the only major difference between the three grades of car will be the size of the battery pack, meaning an ability for consumers to chose the battery pack which best suits their needs.

Launching in Japan and with an entry level price of 2.60 million yen ($32,000), the new Mitsubishi i-Miev M will offer just 75 miles of range per charge.

Like the standard i-Miev, it will feature a level 3 rapid charge port as standard, allowing owners to recharge in under 30 minutes where suitable charging facilities exist.

2012 Mitsubishi iGallery

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Next in the lineup will be the standard i-Miev, offering the same 100 mile range as the current model, but at a reduced price.

At the higher end of the market, the i-MIev G will offer an additional 10 miles of range for a total range of 110 miles per full charge. But thanks to economies of scale and the decreasing cost of production, even the i-Miev G will be cheaper to buy than its 100 mile-per-charge predecessor at 3.8 million yen ($46,968).

But before you get too excited, Mitsubishi has no official plans yet to bring the three range options to the U.S, where the Mitsubishi i-Miev will be redesigned and sold from 2012 as the Mitsubishi i.

We’d like to hope that Mitsubishi will offer different range options for any U.S. specification i, but we’re not sure many consumers will pay a premium for just 10 more miles of range. Given that Mitsubishi has already set a price of $27,990 for its U.S. spec 2012 Mitsubishi i, we're not sure how Mitsubishi would introduce a range of battery options without seriously subsidizing the larger capacity packs.

Source: All Cars Electric