Although Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV has been available in Japan since 2009 it has only just hit used Mitsubishi dealers in the UK this month. The i-MiEV is the first pure-electric vehicle (EV) available to world markets in regular series production from a major manufacturer. In the motoring industry the i-MiEV can be classed as a revolution and a product of Mitsubishi’s sub brand “Intelligent Motion” which aims to reduce CO2 output on a global scale. For consumers it is a revolution as well, the fully electric car concept has been around for many years and now finally we the consumer can buy a fully electric Mitsubishi from a local dealer – just as we would with a traditional vehicle. Mitsubishi also provide Peugeot and Citroen with their respective EV models based entirely on the i-MiEV.
Mitsubishi’s model is the only car at the moment that can be purchased outright. UK customers benefit from the government’s Plug-In Car Grant (P-ICG) of £5,000, therefore the outright purchase price of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is £23,990. As well as consumers being able to purchase outright, Mitsubishi Contract Motoring offers a competitive finance package on a non-maintained contract hire basis over a 48 month period for £399 per month. Independent motoring advisors CAP have predicted that the Mitsubishi i-MiEV will retain 43% of its on the road price after the £5,000 government incentive P-ICG and after three years and 30,000 miles which is better than most combustion engine models currently on the market. Not only is the i-MiEV the first fully electric vehicle available to the masses, it is also the first EV model to have been crash tested by Euro NCAP and receive a respectable four star rating. (more…)