Lawson To Add 150 Mitsubishi i MiEVs To Corporate Fleet

31 December 2008

Nikkei. Convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc. plans to add 150 Mitsubishi i MiEV electric vehicles to its fleet in the summer of 2009. The company may add as many as 1,600 i MiEVs eventually, according to the report in the Nikkei.

Because the i MiEV’s traveling distance on a fully charged battery is around 160 km (99 miles), Lawson intends to deploy the vehicles first in the Tokyo metropolitan area, in the Kinki region and in other areas, where distances between stores are short.

Prior to the full-scale introduction in the summer, the company plans to begin using a single i MiEV in the Tokyo metropolitan area on Jan. 12 to evaluate its ease of use and effectiveness in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Lawson will also install a rapid charger for electric vehicles at one of its convenience stores in the Tokyo area in fiscal 2009 or later and provide it for use by customers as a trial service.