Mitsubishi won't sell an electric car after all
Our green sibling site was particularly interested in Mitsubishi's announcement last Monday that revealed their intention to bring an electric car to the U.S. market in the next few years. Some of us were skeptical that a major announcement like that would be given during a dealer's convention in Las Vegas, but when the President of Mitsubishi says something, we listen.
AutoblogGreen delved deeper into the story and came across this article on CNNMoney's website that quotes Mitsubishi spokesman Dan Irvin in an email saying, "Please note that contrary to the Automotive News story of earlier this week, there is currently no plan to sell this car in the U.S."
Okay. So what changed in four days? It's unlikely that Mitsubishi sat down, did a feasibility study and called it quits. So is it a great leap to think that Mitsubishi's president, Osamu Masuko knows of a plan, but wasn't supposed to divulge the information yet, or could it just be chalked up to Sin City's old mantra of, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?"
We're not sure, but we know we've done a few stupid things in the Nevada desert too.
[Source: CNNMoney.com via AutoblogGreen]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Howard Kerr 12:43PM (10/14/2006)
The headline to this story says:
"Mitsubishi won't sell an electric car after all"
Then the story says Mitsubishi has no plans to sell an electric car IN THE UNITED STATES, and asks: "what's changed in 4 days?"
Nothing has changed in 4 days. Mitsubishi actually sells cars in other parts of the world....who knew? (Please note sarcasm.) As long as the media continue to report news from GLOBAL manufacturers in ONLY U.S. terms.......there will continue to be these misunderstandings. Mitsubishi sells many products overseas that it doesn't sell in the U.S. (FTO anyone?) and the U.S. model lineup changes at the "drop of a hat" as the market changes.
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Mike 3:13PM (10/14/2006)
Howard: Although you are correct, Mitsubishi sells cars in other parts of the world the article is based off Mitsubishi stating last week that they would sell an electric car in the USA. So I really don't see what your point is. It's like you're saying that Autoblog can't state that Mitsu isn't going to sell a specific model in the US because it's being sold elsewhere. In all reality this site is based off of what is going to sell in the USA, so not many people really care what they are making for the european markets.
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kballs 4:50PM (10/14/2006)
I think that maybe the misunderstanding is that the car would be electric-only (powered entirely by a battery). The article on Autoweek implies it would be a series hybrid, with a 1.1 liter gasoline ICE that would only run when the batteries were low.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/FREE/61009001/1041
So maybe the first announcement was misunderstood and also the denial may be misunderstood. However it is very common for Japanese manufacturers to introduce a product in Japan as a test market several years before they try to bring the product to other countries (if ever). Maybe they meant that the plan was to bring it to the US if it did well in Japan.
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chewy 9:19PM (10/14/2006)
And some smart people a decade or so ago thought we would all be driving electric cars by now.
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GOT 2:30PM (10/15/2006)
"Okay. So what changed in four days?"
In four days the oil prices didn't skyrocket and Mitsubishi (along with all the others) realized it couldn't compete with big oil and OPEC (who might be thinking that they must lower the price/barrel so us USA-itizens won't want an electric vehicle).
Well, someone had to mention the price of oil... :D
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Andy 12:31AM (10/15/2006)
Mitsubishi Motors doesn't need another costly sales failure here in the US. It needs vehicle that will insure sales: that means cheap SUVs and sedans.
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Jim Wint 1:01AM (10/16/2006)
Watch "Who Killed The Electric Car?" at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5599073542041338932 before the documentary gets shredded like almost every EV that GM ever made.
I found the google link on digg: http://digg.com/videos_educational/Who_Killed_The_Electric_Car_on_Google_Video#c3441305
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Brian W 1:17AM (10/16/2006)
I wondered why some stories said yes and others said no. It was just bad headlines, not Mitsubishi's fault.
They said they had NO plans to bring it here at this time. In Japan and other places they are testing it.
Short trips, small cars and high gas makes them a lot more attractive there.
America is not even sold on hybrids, let alone electric cars. It will take a long time for that.
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Mitsufan 3:57AM (10/17/2006)
Mitsubishi NEVER SAID it was bringing the electric i to the states. That was Automotive News pulling a story out of its collective...ear. The Mitsu release said nothing about the US market, just that testing had to be finished in Japan before anything else could be considered.
http://media.mitsubishi-motors.com/pressrelease/e/corporate/detail1533.html
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