Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (Japan) announced plans to mass-produce electric cars in 2010, while launching a brand-new model of a sport utility vehicle this fall and a mini-vehicle model in January next year. The plans were unveiled at a regular shareholders' meeting as part of the scandal-plagued company's efforts to regain profitability, which was badly affected by a series of vehicle defect coverups.
The envisaged electric car will have a lithium-ion battery, emitting no gas and requiring only one-fifth the energy to drive compared with hybrid gasoline-electric cars. The electric car will be modeled on the mini-vehicle called "i," also a brand-new model, and will have an in-wheel motor system in which a motor is directly attached to the wheels. The car will make its first test run next year.
