Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison will use Mitsubishi's zero-emissions
i MiEV electric car for research and demonstration purposes. The Japanese car manufacturer plans to integrate the small sedan into the fleets of both American public service providers during the last quarter of 2008 in order to conduct additional road tests. The vehicle in question has actually already passed preliminary tests with seven public service providers in Japan.
They will be able to evaluate the viability of such a car for daily use and to promote the various advantages of driving an electric vehicle in California. This partnership will also allow PG&E and SCE to determine how best to develop infrastructures to recharge the batteries. The technological switch will benefit all three parties.The electric i MiEV is based on the fuel-powered "i" vehicle already sold in Japan. The 330-volt lithium ion battery is located beneath the floor of the vehicle and powers an electric, 63-hp permanent magnet motor that produces more exciting accelerations than the standard 64-hp engine. The expected operating range is 160 kilometres.
photo: Mitsubishi