Mitsubishi i-MiEV Begins Sales in Hong Kong

Mitsubishi's new-generation i-MiEV electric vehicle has begun retailing to individuals in Hong Kong this week after several vehicles were delivered to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR) and a few companies.

The beginning of sales marks the debut of i-MiEV retailing for private owners both in Hong Kong and outside Japan. The retail price for the EV is HK$395,000, with Mitsubishi aiming to sell 50 units this year.

The cars will be sold through Universal Cars Ltd. (UCL). The two signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the HKSAR government to advertise and support the sale of the EV. Stating this month, the HKSAR government conducted practicality tests with a pre-production test model i-MiEV and started to install a charging infrastructure.

Separately, earlier in March, Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot Citroen (PSA) signed an agreement for the development and supply of the rebadged i-MiEV. The small electric vehicle will be sold through the Peugeot and Citroen dealer networks in Europe.

The i-MiEV has been on sale in Japan since July 2009 and was very well received by the customers. By the end of 2010 i-MiEV will hit the European market, complete with a charging system compatible with European 220/240V outlets. In this layout, a full charge from scratch should take about seven hours. The car will also retail in the US in the near future.