Mitsubishi reveals the "I" electric vehicle at the 2010 L.A. Auto Show

LOS ANGELES -- Mitsubishi Motors renamed its MiEV electric vehicle to be called simply "I." It was introduced on the second media day at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. The "I" is a five-door hatchback electric car with a range of 100 miles in Japan or 75 miles in the United States. It was launched for fleet customers in July 2009 and on April 1, 2010 for the rest of the public. Sales in the U.S. should begin in November 2011 with a starting price of $30,000, before any state or federal incentives. The "I" is equipped with a 64 hp permanent-magnet motor.

The Mitsubishi MiEV concept was first introduced in 2006. The production version came out in 2009. The name remains the same in Japan and in Europe, however it was shortened to just the "I" for the United States and Canadian markets, powered by MiEV technology.

"This car can be charged three different ways, there's also three different driving modes," said Laura Arbios, a product specialist at Mitsubishi Motors. "You can charge on a 110-outlet, a 220 or a 440 direct current. The 110 gets you a charge in about 12 hours, 220 gets you a charge in about six, the DC gets you an 80 percent charge in about 20 minutes."

The "I" is a completely electric vehicle. It has no on-board charger or gas tank whatsoever. That also means it produces zero emissions.

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Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric, coming late 2011, about $30,000 before gov't incentives

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By H. Darr Beiser, USAT

Mitsubishi says it, too, will have a pure-battery car in the U.S. before long -- well, fall of next year. Called i-MiEV (innovative Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle), it'll be more than a year behind the Nissan Leaf's planned U.S. launch late this year.

Even so, it'll be among the first wave of true electrics aimed at showroom shoppers rather than fleet operators. Mitsu forecasts a price of about $30,000 before any government clean-car incentives are applied. Nissan's Leaf is $32,780 before the federal $7,500 tax credit. Nissan notes that at least three states -- California, Georgia and Oregon -- offer their own tax credits.

GM says it'll have the Chevy Volt electric sedan out this December, roughly same time as Leaf. Volt runs entirely on electricity, but unlike the others it carries a small gasoline engine that kicks in to run a generator for power when the batteries get low. Leaf and i-MiEV both claim about 100 miles on a charge. Volt is 40 miles, then the gas engine takes over.

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