Mitsubishi Goes Electric Next Month, and It’s Cheap

Mitsubishi Motors has released its all-electric iMiEV and will start leasing it next month, writes our Japanese correspondent (and founder of Agile Media) Hayashi Sakawa.

The car will only be leased to commercial customers in Japan but the company will start selling it to consumers in April 2010. The sales target for 2009 is 1400 cars.

The iMiEV will have a 100 mile range and cost about the equivalent of $45,000. Japan gives the equivalent of $14,000 in credits so the actual price of the car is around $30,000.

Subaru is coming out with an all-electric around the same time. Nissan has one coming out next year. With the big companies entering the market, it is going to be tough for the electric startups.

The U.S. startups, though, are pulling their own low-cost tricks. Coda Automotive (formerly part of Miles) wants to bring an all-electric car to the U.S. in 2010 that's based around a Chinese car.