Mitsu has slashed the i-MiEV price by $9,100.00 in Japan!

[clovi]

TOKYO, 11/14/2013: Mitsubishi Motors Corp has slashed the price of its i-MiEV electric minicar in Japan by up to $9,100, aiming to boost sluggish sales as makers of electric vehicles face slower-than-expected acceptance of the technology. Japan's sixth-biggest carmaker, which started selling the i-MiEV in 2009, said on Thursday it was dropping the price of its top of the range i-MiEV by around 25 per cent, or 900,000 yen ($9,100), to 2.9 million yen. With government subsidies, the model can be bought in Japan for around 2 million yen, it said. "The main purpose of cutting the price is to strengthen our ability to sell these cars," a Mitsubishi Motors spokesman said. Mitsubishi Motors also cut the price of the entry level i-MiEV by 190,000 yen to 2.5 million, which with subsidies can be bought for about 1.7 million yen. Electric vehicles have not caught on as fast as some expected, due to concerns over their driving range, the lack of a charging infrastructure and customer resistance to paying too high a price premium over similar-sized gas-powered cars.

Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/mitsubishi-motors-cuts-japan-electric-car-price-by-up-to-9100/articleshow/25774922.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Copyright © Times Internet Limited.

How much the announced 2014 will cost :?: :?: :?: . We already paid 10 k off here before!!

 

[danpatgal]

I think they're going for the low-end EV market (Tesla has the high-end; Nissan the middle) and it could be successful, if their costs aren't too high. I'm actually quite surprised that they've decided to go this route based on the poor reviews and trouble they've had selling. But maybe they got a taste of the low-end market with the incredible sales bump they had in Jan/Feb when they made the lease deals $99/month (and sometimes even lower). With a price of $25k before incentives, it makes the iMiev down around $17 and in some markets with rebates or state tax breaks, close to $15k. That will be hard to ignore for people who need a small car replacement, like the idea of an EV, and want to save on gasoline. I'm excited ... and I already have one!

 

[Vike]

Given the Nissan Leaf S sitting under $30k and delivering much greater perceived value than an i-MiEV SE (despite the SE's fog lights and alloy wheels), a significant price cut is Mitsubishi's only sensible way forward. Even at small unit losses, it's a much cheaper option than developing another BEV from scratch (especially when there can be no guarantee how well it would sell), and they still need a BEV for ZEV credits if they ever want to do any kind of volume in California (lacking the deep pockets to run the GM/Toyota hydrogen scam). I hope what we're seeing here is that the Outlander PHEV has the LEJ battery plant running at full utilization, lowering per unit prices. That would be good news all around if it means Mitsubishi can actually avoid unit losses on the i-MiEV and so is encouraged to keep selling it everywhere in the U.S. (one of my biggest fears being that the i-MiEV marketing plan could devolve into "compliance only").

Since the ES has no chance of being profitable if priced enough below the SE to be worth offering, best to drop it (as they are apparently doing in the U.S.) and focus on low-balling the SE (which is what I fervently hope this JDM announcement means they are doing). As long as CHAdeMO continues to be available as a standalone option (as it was on the ES but not the old SE), the Premium package could continue as a way to bring in some extra margin, but the SE Premium is still going to have to come in well under $30k.

The wild card in all this is the Outlander PHEV and its impact on battery supplies. As noted above, getting LEJ to 100% utilization helps with economies of scale, but it's possible to get too much of a good thing if profitable Outlander sales are constrained by battery availability, which can only put pressure on Mitsubishi to limit i-MiEV production. One possible solution may lie in the recent Renault-Nissan/Mitsu alliance announcement; I've read that included plans for a new EV based on a jointly-developed next-gen kei car (Mitsu and Nissan already sell a common kei car as the Nissan Dayz and Mitsu eK Wagon for JDM), using Nissan batteries with Mitsubishi motors and electronics. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to imagine a similar arrangement for the Outlander PHEV, with Nissan providing batteries in exchange for a Nissan-branded version of what could well be a PHEV category killer (especially if sold in the U.S. through Nissan as well as Mitsu). Such an arrangement isn't as strange as it sounds - recall that Honda traded its minivans for Isuzu SUVs for years.

 

[jray3]

I've read that included plans for a new EV based on a jointly-developed next-gen kei car (Mitsu and Nissan already sell a common kei car as the Nissan Dayz and Mitsu eK Wagon for JDM), using Nissan batteries with Mitsubishi motors and electronics. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to imagine a similar arrangement for the Outlander PHEV, with Nissan providing batteries in exchange for a Nissan-branded version of what could well be a PHEV category killer (especially if sold in the U.S. through Nissan as well as Mitsu).

Yes, I read that too, but sounds like a mismatch- I still think that the battery pack from Mitsu is better than Nissan's. It's one reason I chose the i over a LEAF.

 

[Barbagris]

In Europe need the price cut NOW.

The major European manufacturers are already taking their products to the street. VW e-Up, similar in concept to the i-Miev but longer (7 cm / 3in) and wider (17 cm / 7 in) than the euro-iMiev, but more powerful (82 Hp vs. 67) and with bigger battery (18.7 kWh vs. 16.), more modern (heat pump heating, new plug "combo" European standard), it's cheaper (26,300 eur vs. 30,500 for the iMiEV)

The BMW i3 up to 35,500 euros, but it's a small dragster with its 170 HP for 1270 kg (2800 lbs), and is also larger & modern. Battery pack: 22 kWh, and equipped in option with a range extender.

The Renault Zoe is sold from 21,000 euros, although the batteries in rent (which on the other hand gives confidence to the consumer to possible battery aging), with 88 HP and 24 kWh.

The Nissan Leaf is between 29,900 and 36,000 euros, depending on version.

Or the iMiEV low price or it's out of the market, I think.

(All prices are in Spain, other Euro markets can be slighty different)

 

[Vike]

I still think that the battery pack from Mitsu is better than Nissan's. It's one reason I chose the i over a LEAF.

True, the GS Yuasa LEJ unit seems a better battery from what I've read, but I don't think the Nissan batteries are at all terrible. As I understand it, they're less heat-resistant than LEJ's, so Nissan's made them look worse than they are by providing no active cooling (Mitsu didn't either, as we've learned to our disappointment this year, but it should matter less w/the LEJ batteries).

But all this ignores the point that drove my earlier suggestion - a battery pack that you can get is immeasurably preferable to one that you cannot. Good as the LEJ batteries may or may not be, the plant can't supply enough to meet current demand for Outlander PHEVs. Nissan still has big EV battery plans; they brought additional battery manufacturing capacity online in the U.S. this year, and last I heard had every intention of selling batteries to other manufacturers. Facing a closing window of opportunity created by the temporary failure of other major players to see the value of a PHEV CUV, Mitsubishi needs to gear up and sell Outlander PHEVs now. If Mitsubishi's capacity constraints can be eased by adding a new battery supplier, selling Nissan-badged "Outfinder" PHEVs would be good business for Nissan and Mitsubishi both, at least until Nissan can buy or license Mitsu PHEV gear to put into the Pathfinder as a complement to their existing hybrid (though the Outlander would still be smaller and more fuel efficient).

 

[gatedad11]

I wonder if this could eventually affect the US sales price? Back in January '14 I jumped on the low lease deals. Don't regret it at all, but with the LEAF's reduced price, even the low end Nissan is a better deal than the "I". What Mitsubishi could/should do is also upgrade the onboard charger from 3.3 to 6.6, make QC standard and then work with Nissan to implement the rollout of Chademo units on the US East Coast. It's very frustrating to have a car that you really enjoy driving, is inexpensive to drive but just can only go so far, as a practical measure. If I were to drive my car to its range limit 1 way(in winter here, with heater on, and on highways speed of 60 mph, I'd get no more than 40 miles out of it). Having an upgraded charger plus a QC option would allow me to stop and get a quick charge---even if I went to 100% and spent the full hour---and be able to drive back. Right now that is just not an option. OK, there are no QC stations out here in Philly, but once they are here, there is absolutely no reason to even look at an "I" if Nissan's LEAF has the 6.6 and QC.

Lou

 

[aarond12]

Back in January '14 I jumped on the low lease deals...

:shock: Another time traveller!

 

[Vike]

What Mitsubishi could/should do is also upgrade the onboard charger from 3.3 to 6.6, make QC standard and then work with Nissan to implement the rollout of Chademo units on the US East Coast.

I'd tend to agree that QC should be bundled in as a value booster. Some may disagree, but net/net it would be a way to make the car more attractive to more buyers without having to lower the price even further, and the QC unit's already been developed, having been offered from day one. Being a confirmed CCS Frankenplug skeptic, I'm quite enthusiastic about pushing as many CHAdeMO QC stations into the field as possible (dual format at least, but if Nissan's paying there won't be Frankenplugs).

On the other hand, face facts - there's not going to be a 6.6kW charger. That would be new, and there's not another dime of development money going into this car. Its mission is to get some ZEV credits and retain EV enthusiast mind share while Mitsubishi/Nissan develop their next generation EV world car, so I've resigned myself to an absence of real improvements. While I think being the unchallenged best value in 4-passenger EVs is their only way forward, that doesn't mean they can't address minor irritants like making aux-in and USB standard on the base radio, heating the front passenger seat, and upgrading the L1 EVSE to 12A (those last two tweaks having already been done for the Canadian 2013 model). That upgraded L1 is a big deal, btw - a 14 hour full-charge time could let many more owners get by without a L2 EVSE at all.

But cheer up - 3.3kW is actually plenty for home charging, while 6.6kW would complicate many EVSE installations. As for public charging, QC's even better, and it's worth noting that many public L2 chargers (especially free ones) won't be offering more than 3.3kW anyway. Your charger can't draw more than the EVSE will supply.