Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has launched the country’s first 100% electric-powered car and is looking at producing the batteries locally.
Mitsubishi Malaysia senior head project and chief executive officer Hoffen Teh told a local paper it is in talks with its parent company in Japan to appoint local vendors to manufacture the entire component of the lithium ion battery there to bring down the cost of the car.
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“Right now, the battery comes together with the car from Japan,” said Teh at the launch of the i-MiEV.
The car sells for RM136,118.
Mitsubishi Malaysia aims to sell 50 in the year ending March 2014.
It plans local assembly once it achieves economies of scale by selling thousands of units a year.
It also plans to open another four outlets in the central, northern and southern regions as well as in Sabah and Sarawak in the next one year at a cost of RM250,000 each.
Malaysia aims to roll out 10% green cars out of the country’s total industry volume of some 650,000 units a year and bring down carbon emissions by 40% by 2020.
Distributed by SAG Star, the i-MIEV comes in frost white and two-tone red and frost white.
The 660cc car comes with a free five-year maintenance package and a five-year warranty or 100,000km.
The four-seater has a touch screen entertainment system, global positioning system navigation, solar tint film, auto climate control, air-conditioner, aero wiper blade and six airbags.
Its needs a charging time of eight hours to travel continuously for 160km. With a top speed of 130km/h, it can be recharged from a regular home socket.
The i-MIEV was launched in Japan in July 2009 and is now sold in about 30 countries.
