Mitsubishi launches electric green cars in HK

Sonya Bryskine
Epoch Times Staff

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced that its flashy i-MiEV electric car will be sold in Hong Kong from May 24, marking the first foreign sale outside Japan.

The little battery-operated vehicles will sell in Hong Kong for HKD395,000. Mitsubishi aims to sell at least 50 units by the end of this year.

The i-MiEV boasts an impressive green footprint with zero-emissions and quick re-charging time.

In addition to high environmental performance and handling inherent to a car with a compact body, the i-MiEV has been lauded for its motor power, stability, quietness and its comfortable ride.

The performance, equipment levels and safety features of the i-MiEV compare extremely favourably with all its petrol/diesel equivalents. Standard specifications include ABS, airbags, ISO FIX, air conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, CD/radio/USB player and Bluetooth telephone connectivity.

The electric motor is the key feature whereby the inverter and recharger replaces the conventional engine and compact lithium ion batteries replace the fuel tank that produces zero tailpipe emissions. The result is a car with a top speed of 130km per hour and an achievable range of 130km and can be charged in seven hours in the home. With a quick charge an 80 per cent 「fill」 can be achieved in 30 minutes.

In Japan, MMC first sold the i-MiEV mainly to corporations and municipalities in 2009, with sales of about 1400 cars. In April of 2010, MMC expanded its sales to include sales to individuals.

MMC has been conducting fleet testing in countries and other areas all over the globe and plans to launch left-hand drive i-MiEVs in Europe from the end of this year.

Ireland has already signed up to actively promote electric vehicle technology, as part of the country』s drive towards reducing greenhouse emissions. The Irish Government has set a target of 10 per cent for all vehicles on Irish roads to be electric by 2020.

The electric car market has met some obstacles, with criticisms of poor performance, high costs and absence of re-charging stations. But breakthroughs in the development of long-lasting lithium-ion batteries have lowered the cost of electric vehicles and increased their range and speed.

Hong Kong』s own model

Hong Kong has also developed its own electric car, launching the much publicised MyCar last October.

The small two-seater runs on batteries, and besides being environmentally friendly, it is also inexpensive.

The Standard reports that it costs about HKD2.20 for a normal petrol seven-seater to run for about 1km and HKD1 for better ones.

However, it apparently only costs about 10 Hong Kong cents for MyCar. To fully charge up MyCar, all it takes is about HKD10. That is sufficient for the car to operate for around 100km.

It is probably cheaper than riding on a bus. And MyCar will only cost about HKD90,000, according to Eric Cheng, a professor at Polytechnic University』s Power Electronics Research Centre, reports The Standard.

Hong Kong ideal market

The electric vehicles are expected to gain popularity in Hong Kong, where emissions have reached alarming levels.

The zero-emission cars will help combat rising levels of pollution, which have recorded its two worst quarters in the last six months.

The levels of harmful gases in the atmosphere has sparked regular government health warnings and growing discontent among the city』s seven million people, reports Bloomberg.

Roadside pollution was either 「very high」 or 「severe」 13.6 per cent of the time from January to March and 23.8 per cent of the time in the October-December period last year, compared with a previous high of 13.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, Environmental Protection Department data show.

The oldest quarterly air pollution index figures showed it breaching 「very high」 levels 1.9 per cent of the time in the third quarter of 1999.

The Obama administration』s first Cabinet-level trade mission in Asia headed by the U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, will travel to Beijing, Shanghai and Jakarta.

Locke will be accompanied by Robin Pollard, the executive director of the Washington Wine Commission, who will attend Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2010, the local version of the wine trade show in France』s Bordeaux region.

Locke who was also the former Washington Governor launched the Asian markets to American wines and wine-related economic opportunities on 24 May.

Hong Kong is revolutionalising its wine industry, but de-regulating import tax by 40- on wine. By the end of 2008, the value of imported wines had jettisoned 82 percent over the year of 2007. The competition may be aggressive, whereby seven other international wine-producing regions have signed agreements with Hong Kong. Hence the promotion of quality wines with local and regional cuisine is endorsed as a pivotol part of growing business in Asia.

Hong Kong has embraced wine appreciation in the main stream, which has offered an injection into the Special Administrative Region』s tourism and the expansion of wine auctions and improved preservation services.