Report: Mitsubishi to build extended-range EVs, too

When General Motors introduced the Volt concept two years ago, nobody seriously expected the Detroit automaker to be the only one to go down the extended range electric vehicle path. In fact, at that same auto show, Ford showed its own AirStream concept using the same idea. Now, it looks like one of the biggest proponents of battery electric vehicles is going down the range extender path: It's being reported that Mitsubishi will not be content to simply offer plug-in only cars like the iMiEV.

The report says Mitsubishi's range extended EV could be based on the cX concept that appeared at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. That concept was powered by a clean diesel engine. An ER-EV version would use a battery pack with sufficient capacity for 40 miles of electric driving with a small gasoline engine to provide a charge sustaining mode after that. The Mitsubishi ER-EV is expected to hit the streets at the end of 2010, just about the same time as the Volt.

[Source: Register Hardware]