Mitsubishi Motors Developing PHEV
06 October 2008
Nikkei. Mitsubishi Motors is developing a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, according to President Osamu Masuko, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Monday.
The development of a plug-in hybrid comes on the heels of the auto maker’s plan to launch a mass-produced electric vehicle [the iMiEV] next year in Japan... Masuko noted that the plug-in hybrid will be better suited for longer distances than the electric car.
Mitsubishi Motors formed a joint venture with GS Yuasa Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC)—Lithium Energy Japan—to manufacture large-capacity and high-performance lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications. (Earlier post.)
Acknowledging that the i-MiEV cannot compete with extended range E-vehicles. That's fine. The more PHEVs on the market, the faster the transition.
Posted by: gr | 06 October 2008 at 08:54 AM
Full electric vehicles are an aberation that cannot be allowed to persist, so this is a good announcement. Even if the fueled powered range extender generator is only a few killowatts, such a vehicle can travel many hundreds of miles at useful speeds stopping every three hundred miles or so for more gasoline or diesel.
The hydraulic hybrid may have many cost and performance and weight advantages over the electric hybrids.
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 06 October 2008 at 08:03 PM