Monday, 23 August 2010

Can an electric car handle a Montreal winter?

BOUCHERVILLE - The upcoming three-year trial of 50 electric Mitsubishi cars in this South Shore city is “at the heart” of Hydro-Québec’s move toward the electrification of ground transport, a senior director of the utility said Monday.
Although Hydro-Québec is involved in tests with four different manufacturers of electric or hybrid vehicles, the $4.5-million Mitsubishi project is the largest test in Canada, said Pierre-Luc Desgagné, head of strategic planning and government affairs.
“We will have real-life experience with real people driving those cars, so the data provided will be very” significant, he said.
Desgagné made his remarks as the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV made its debut in Boucherville. That emissions-free car, right off the assembly line in Japan, is on a 7,500-kilometre cross-Canada promotional tour.
The first five i-MiEV test cars are to arrive in Boucherville in December – in time to taste a real winter – followed by another 10 in the spring. The rest of the cars will follow in several batches.

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