Electric Vehicles — Mitsubishi's i-MiEV Is Coming Soon

The role I play as a partner in EVWorld.com enables me to have conversations with people very much at the center of the EV Adoption Curve discussion. I just got off the phone with Joe Delello, currently the man closest to the release of Mitsibishi’s i-MiEV, slated for November 2011 in the US.

I told him what cynics are saying about the sincerity of OEMs in the EV space (as if he needed to hear it from me), i.e., that there is no incentive for the OEMs to move this along as neither they nor their dealers make money. He made some good points, which I’ll share:

Automakers are understandably cautious. They want to see how batteries perform in hot and cold climates, they’re worried about lithium shortages, charging infrastructure – and consumer demand beyond tree-hugger early adopters.

However, he’s honestly optimistic. He points out that Americans have already shown how irritated they are at $4/gallon gasoline, and believes that gas prices are likely to generate demand from people who otherwise would not be interested.

Having said that, there will only be 2000 i-MiEVs sold in the US in the car’s first year –a year in which there will be 20 million cars sold with internal combustion engines.   2000 units?  One out of 10,000?  I should say that’s cautious – to say the least.

For what it’s worth – and I told Joe this – I absolutely adore the I-MiEV. I was lucky enough to test-drive one at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show – it’s a cute little rocket. And it will be priced significantly under $30,000 – much less than the LEAF. I could sell 2000 of them in Bismarck, North Dakota.