Mitsubishi has made the i-MiEV into more than just a car – now it really is a giant mobile battery as well as a super-cute mode of transportation. Mitsubishi Motors will be offering an option to new car buyers (and presumably existing i-MiEV owners as well) through its dealers on April 27th, 2012 – the MiEV power BOX.
The MiEV power BOX (yes, that is exactly the right capitalization) is a relatively small and rather inconspicuous little white box. It plugs into the i-MiEV’s quick-charge outlet, and pulls electricity right from the battery. It then converts the electricity to AC 100V, with up to 1500W available. It’s compatible with both the i-MiEV and the MINICAB-MiEV.
When the lithium ion battery is fully charged (at 16 kWh, according to the MiEV’s specifications) and connected to the MiEV power BOX running continuously at full 1500W capacity, it has between 5 and 6 hours of available power. Mitsubishi estimates it’s enough to run the typical Japanese household for about a day.
The MiEV power BOX is available through Mitsubishi dealers in Japan for 149,800 yen, or about $1821 USD (according to the exchange rate at 5pm on Monday, March 12th). Mitsubishi has also announced this via their new Facebook page, where they have just started informing fans and potential customers of new developments.
While the power BOX is definitely not a cheap option, it does seem eminently practical – particularly considering the recent anniversary of the Tohoku quake that left many without power or with scheduled blackouts for months.
Source: Gas2.0
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