I'm glad they saw the light about not using in-wheel motors. Until motor mass can be brought down, unsprung weight will be a problem for in-wheel EV's.

Why is it when ever a vehicle like this is developed its gotta look like an egg on steriods. I know there will be people that'll say "EEeeuuuww, I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those ugly things". Next thing you know a young family will buy one and they'll over load it with 5 or 6 kids and then a big SUV will run over them killing all the kids and the parents too and it'll be the Hindenberg all over again -- electric vehicles will be set back 20 years. We got the Telsa Supercar (big power, big speed, big price) and then we got this egg beater thing -- I just wish this first one could be more mainstream, full of all the appropriate air bags and safety features, a modest range and modest price -- something that a small family could afford and love -- something that would catch on and become an Icon -- remember the first Mustang -- something like that!!!

JJ, you mean a plug-in Prius, right?

Flames for JJ! Heresy! :) (I actually like the look of the Prius)

What they need is a modular "recharging" system (Motor + fuel tank). You could replace 1 seat with this or a sizable proportion of the boot. If you used diesel, you wouldn't have such a fire problem as with gasoline.
They you could have a 5 seater with short range, or optionally, a 4 seater with 3-500 mile range.
Most people would never buy (and less still use) the range extender, but it might make more people buy it, and the people who bought it could always go on long runs with it, or buy it later when they needed it.
Most people would probably have a 2nd car for long runs, and use this for shorter ones, but the modular charger would give the appearance of a long range electric car.

What's Li-Ion cost these days? $500 per kw/h in bulk? That would put the 16kw/h battery at $8000. Since it states a range of 81 miles and most folks will need to either use heat or A/C for some significant percentage of the year, we'll just say that this battery is enough for 40 miles a day with light climate control use but that it will result in a significant cycle of the battery.

Most Li-Ion is rated around 1000 cycles, although to be honest, they drop off so the useful range may be half as much by 1000 cycles. Still, we'll blissfully pretend otherwise and look at it doing 40 miles per charge anyway. That's 40,000 miles per battery pack or a cost of about 20 cents per mile for the pack alone. That's a little pricy by any standard.

Sid Hoffman -- What's L-Ion cost these days? $500 per kw/h in bulk?? -- Good point/post and well said. I guess the real question then is: In a perfect world where there are millions of cars running around with the perfect battery in them (what ever the perfect battery turns out to be -- quick charging/safe/long lasting/high energy density) what will be the bottom line cost of those batteries produced in bulk with all the associated economies of scale already figured out and built into the vehicle. Just what will that cost be?? $______.00 per kw/h??

BTW -- The Prius does look like an elongated egg beater and so do the people who drive em -- the Telsa, now that's a looker/head turner for sure!! (I'm shooting for +100 posts just to see if GCC can handle triple digits!!)

Man this is cool! I want one!

JJ,
In Europe and Japan, the streets are narrow and parking spots small by US standard. This kind of shape is needed to maximize internal space with minimum footprint AND minimum aerodynamic drag. EV's requires more internal space for the battery pack, thereby raising the height of the vehicle, thus a more bulky appearance. This is a quite an attractive styling considering all the above. The Tesla is designed for emotional appeal but internal space and seating are severely limited in comparison this vehicle. If you live in Japan and have parking space for one car where you live, this car, or better yet, its PHEV version, would be the one to buy. Forget about a Tesla, unless you are a bachelor living a swingin' single's lifestyle.

If you are into Green Vehicles, get used to it!

This independent report details how much it costs to make a standard (small) LiIon battery.

http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/149.pdf

Back in 2000 it cost ~$1.70 to make a single 8 Wh battery (page 34), so that's $210 per kWh battery costs (manufacturing). That was 6 years ago, could be cheaper by now.

The 16 kWh battery in the Mitsubishi could therefore cost as little as $3400 to manufacture. That's not far off the same amount saved from not having engine, radiator, accessories, exhaust, catalytic converter etc etc. So overall price premium could be smaller, maybe $1,500.

The Mitsubishi LiIon is also meant to be a particularly long lasting type, developed for EVs and hybrids. Assuming 100k miles, the pack cost emerges at 3.4 cents per mile, less if you discount the savings from not having ICE costs.

There is a perfectly logical reason for the ubiquitous "egg beater" design. The embryonic state of EV evolution. Which means, don't count your egg beaters, before they hatch...back.

Clett, the saving of not having a mass produced IC engine, rad, exhaust, ancillaries, etc, will just about pay for a current tech power control unit + electric motor.

So the batteries would still be a premium.

Current tech elec cars are always charged at a premium.

You have to ask yourself why that is. I seriously doubt its because elec car co's are ripping people off. Its because manufacturing costs are higher.

Face it people, the cost basis for elec cars just does not add up yet. Increase in gas prices (in the USA) will not make a difference either. Gas prices in Europe hover at $6/gallon and yet the economic case for elec cars still doesn't add up here. There is no reason to think the states is any different.

Andy

Clett had a great graph on his website that I saw awhile back. It shows the declining cost of lithium ion. It may not make economic sense today, but with a strong downward push each year it can make sense in the not too distant future.

Mitsubishi also isn't releasing this car for mass production this year. It sounds to me like they are prototyping and giving to utilities to look at how you'd upgrade for fast charging. By the time this thing is hitting dealers in volume it could be 2010 or 2012 at least. And 4-6 years is a big difference in the cost and ability of the batteries.