NY Auto Show: Mitsubishi i-MiEV coming to U.S. now official

You can always count on big announcements at the NY Auto Show, and Mitsubishi are about to make one. The carmaker will officially announce that the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car will be making its way to the U.S.

This has been hinted for some time now, but it is nice to know that Mitsubishi have made it official. The i-MiEV is based on the “i” minicar, and early test drives have proved popular. Some company representatives have told Autoblog that the small car will be available before 2012.

Many people have asked why it will take this long for the car to make it to showrooms, it is nothing to do with technology, it has more to do with the battery. It seems that the lithium battery is hard to guarantee a supply. GS Yuasa is producing the batteries, and if they do not supply them, then Mitsubishi cannot make the i-MiEV electric vehicle.

Mitsubishi hopes to be able to produce 20,000 units a year.