Mitsubishi i goes electric

Mitsubishi has developed an battery-powered electric version of its cute little i minicar, and is will be collaborating with three power companies in Japan to carry out feasibility studies to establish a network of fast charging stations. The i MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) gets an electric motor in place of its 660cc 3-cylinder engine, and a high-density lithium-ion battery in place of a fuel tank. Its spacious 4-passenger cabin is unaffected by having this conversion to run on electricity. Mitsubishi claims that the i MiEV actually performs better than the standard petrol driven model in several areas, notably with better torque, and less noise and vibrations. An on-board charger allows the i MiEV to be recharged from the standard Japanese 100 volt power outlets. It may be purely coincidental, but over in Europe, Smart has also developed an electric version of its 2-seater fortwo. DaimlerChrysler claim that the fortwo EV is considerably more economical to run than the already miserly petrol-driven version – EUR 0.06 per kilometer for the petrol engine, but EUR 0.02 for the electric version. Instead of lithium-ion, the smart uses a sodium-nickel chloride battery which takes 3.5 hours to re-charge between 30 to 80 percent of its capacity. A full charge will take 8 hours. Performance of the smart EV is similar to that of the petrol version, with a maximum speed of 120km/h and a range of 110km. Perhaps the local power companies show look into doing some trial testing of battery-powered electric vehicles. The short distances that we cover certainly make Singapore an ideal place for cars with this non-polluting power source.