The Herald Sun
By: Paul Gover
The race to put the first electric production car on Australian roads has been won by Mitsubishi.
A shipment of 40 plug-in iMiEV plug-in cars will land in July and August.
It will lease the battery-powered compact cars for $1740 a month over three years. It intends to take the cars back at the end of the lease, although it could still sell them.
Mitsubishi will beat Tesla, an American electric-car start-up, which also intends to have its plug-in Roadster here this year.
The first iMiEV owners will be decided in July and Mitsubishi Motors Australia is canvassing potential owners who can help to "co-promote'' the car.
The deal for the iMiEV was confirmed by Mitsubishi's global president, Osamu Masuko, when he visited Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong in Canberra yesterday.
Speaking in Sydney after the meeting, Mr Masuko said the introduction of electric cars and the rate of sales would rely on government support, particularly for establishing fast-charge stations.
He stopped short of calling for cash incentives for buyers, but admitted that sales of the iMiEV in Japan and Europe had been boosted by government financial incentives.
In Japan, the car sells for about $33,000 after the government incentive, but Mr Masuko said that could halve in three years.
Mr Masuko also confirmed a new baby car called Global Small and a plug-in electric SUV that should be ready for showrooms in 2012.