Estonia plans nationwide mobility network

Estonia announced Thursday that it would sell 10 million carbon credits to Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation and use the proceeds to set up a nationwide network of charge-points for electric cars, the AFP reported.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that the government had approved the sale of the unused credits -- tradeable allowances granted by Brussels to European Union members in a drive to limit greenhouse gas emissions by industry.

"Under a Green Investment Scheme, the proceeds will be invested into the establishment of a country-wide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles," Ansip told reporters.

Around 500 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars are to be provided to local authorities for use by social workers. A grant scheme is also to be set up to support the purchase of electric vehicles by private individuals.

"We hope that around 1,000 electric cars will be on our streets by the end of 2012," Ansip added. That figure includes the 500 allocated to local authorities.

Estonia -- a former Soviet-ruled nation of 1.3 million which joined the EU in 2004 -- holds a general election on Sunday.

The centre-right Ansip rejected suggestions that he had made the announcement Thursday in a drive to get the environmentalist vote.

"Talks have been ongoing for a long time and it is pure coincidence," he insisted.

The plan involves setting up some 250 points able to charge an electric vehicle's battery to up to 80 percent capacity within 30 minutes. They are to be located in major cities and along main highways.

"This is a very innovative project. The future will show whether and when electric cars will be in mass use, but this will help us to increase rapidly the number of electric cars in Estonia and to save energy," Economy Minister Juhan Parts told reporters.

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Empresas lideram compra de carros eléctricos

No Diário Económico: Nissan, Peugeot, Mitsubishi e Citroën já venderam 27 carros totalmente eléctricos a clientes, sobretudo empresariais, em Portugal desde o início do ano. O Nissan Leaf e o Peugeot iOn lideram este grupo, cada um com dez unidades entregues - já o Mitsubishi i-Miev vendeu cinco carros e o Citroën C-Zero comercializou dois.

Embora a maioria dos veículos tenha sido adquirida por empresas, os particulares que quiserem comprar carros eléctricos também já o podem fazer. Basta escolher a marca, dirigirem-se a um concessionário de qualquer uma destas marcas e fazer a encomenda do modelo que pretendem.

As marcas automóveis garantem que o interesse dos portugueses em perceber "tudo sobre os carros movidos a energia eléctrica" é cada vez maior. E, como tal, a maioria dos construtores criou ‘sites' onde é possível solicitar informações e fazer pré-reservas. Fonte oficial da Mitsubishi disse ao Diário Económico que, "além das cinco unidades matriculadas, temos já dez unidades com encomenda firme. E já entregámos duas viaturas a clientes particulares".

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Mitsubishi to launch eight new green cars by 2016

From the AFP: Japan's Mitsubishi Motors said Thursday that it will launch a new line-up of environmentally friendly cars by March 2016 and double operating profit in the next three years by focusing on emerging markets.

Mitsubishi will launch a total of eight electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, starting with a mini commercial vehicle, the MINICAB-MiEV, the company said as it unveiled a new mid-term business plan.

Japan's fourth-largest automaker launched the i-MiEV, the world's first commercially produced electric vehicle, in 2009 and the race to manufacture greener cars has heated up among rivals such as Nissan, Toyota and Ford.

The new models will also include Mitsubishi's first plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, to be rolled out in the fiscal year starting April 2012 as it looks to boost emerging market production to target growth.

It aims to double operating profit to 90 billion yen ($1.10 billion) in the year to March 2014 and triple net profit to 45 billion yen.

Mitsubishi hopes the new business strategy, which also includes cost cuts, will boost its earnings as it looks to expand its China business through a new joint venture with a local partner.

"There is huge domestic demand in China and people's living standards are rapidly improving. I believe there is no major doubt that China will continue to grow," company president Osamu Masuko told reporters.

The automaker said it would build a third factory in Thailand in fiscal 2011, making the nation the company's second-largest export hub after Japan, and produce a low-price, energy-efficient compact for the growing middle class.

Mitsubishi will also increase capacity in China and Brazil, and begin full-scale production of sport-utility vehicles in Russia.

Masuko said his company wants to maintain its production level in Japan but acknowledged it is "very difficult to keep the current export-oriented structure and expand output and capacity in Japan."

"We have to produce cars where consumers are and where there are less foreign exchange risks," he said.

For many Japanese automakers, the yen's surge against the dollar and the euro has eaten into profits and made exporting from Japan less profitable.

More companies are considering moving production abroad to stay competitive against rivals benefiting from weaker currencies in their home countries.

Mitsubishi's ratio of overseas production to total output is expected to rise to 54 percent in the fiscal year 2013 from 44 percent in fiscal 2010.

Global output is to soar to 1.58 million units from 1.1 million in the same period, the company said.

It targets sales of 2.5 trillion yen in fiscal 2013, up from 1.9 trillion yen expected for fiscal 2010 ending in March 2011.

Mitsubishi shares closed higher Thursday, up 1.69 percent at 120 yen, outperforming a 1.13 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei index.

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Mitsubishi iMIEV já pode ser alugado em Portugal

Do Mobi.e: O primeiro carro eléctrico da Mitsubishi já se encontra à disposição de todos aqueles que o queiram experimentar. Desde 1 de Janeiro já é possível alugar o i-MiEV nos stands Sixt rent a car, em Portugal.

Em comunicado, a empresa alemã de aluguer de automóveis garante disponibilizar "uma tarifa diária exclusiva para este lançamento de modo a satisfazer a curiosidade daqueles que gostam de conhecer novas formas de mobilidade, entrando assim no futuro".

A integração do i-MiEV no serviço de aluguer de veículos, faz parte da "estratégia que a Sixt tem delineada para 2011, que consiste na prestação de serviços e automóveis de qualidade superior não esquecendo a inovação".

Portugal foi o primeiro país europeu a receber o i-MiEV. Segundo a marca japonesa, Portugal «foi seleccionado como um dos mercados prioritários para o lançamento do i-MiEV, sendo o primeiro país na Europa a iniciar a sua comercialização, um ano depois de o veículo eléctrico da Mitsubishi ter sido lançado no Japão».

O veículo citadino de quatro lugares possui uma autonomia de 150 quilómetros, zero emissões de CO2 e baixo nível de ruído, e pode ser agora alugado num dos quatro stands da Sixt rent a car, nomeadamente nos aeroportos de Lisboa, Porto, Faro e Funchal.

Até Março, a Mitsubishi prevê produzir "11 mil unidades do i-MiEV e, a partir de 2012 a produção do i-MiEV será superior às 40 mil unidades por ano".

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A remarkable year for electric vehicles in 2011

From John Gartner, on Huffington Post: The first Chevrolet Volts, Nissan Leafs, and Smart EDs were delivered in December, but in the annals of history, 2011 will be remembered as the year that electric vehicles (EVs) arrived. EVs for sale to consumers will dominate the headlines throughout the year as average Americans begin to recognize EVs as they roll down the road.

Because of the stalled start in the 1990s, when consumers were tempted by and then denied access to GM's EV1 and other EVs, every milestone during the year will be magnified in the media. By year's end nearly new 50,000 EVs will be plugging in at garages and lots across America. The arrival of new models from automakers Think, Coda, Mitsubishi, Mini, Toyota, and Chevrolet (a few of which were delayed from 2010) will give consumers more options.

Any missteps -- and there will be some -- will be cause célèbre for the EV doubters who don't believe in or desire a move away fossil fuels. Humans have always been fallible in designing and operating vehicles, and replacing liquid fuel with electrons won't change that. While considerable safeguards have been put in place to prevent accidents when charging a vehicle, somewhere someone will find a creative way for failure, and we can expect considerable fanfare by the naysayers when this inevitably occurs.

One of the important trends of 2011 we've identified at Pike Research will be the slow subsiding of the catch phrase "range anxiety." Range anxiety is the supposed fear that both prevents consumers from wanting to buy an EV with a 80-100 mile driving range or from driving said car very far for fear that the batteries will run out, leaving the driver stranded. Range anxiety has been overblown, underestimating drivers' ability to monitor their battery charge level through the various dashboard displays and auditory prompts.

Like the arrival of EVs, the rollout of charging infrastructure has been slower than expected off the line. However, installations of public charging infrastructure such as the government-subsidized EV Project and Charge Point America will see hundreds of charging stations installed across many of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. The availability of public charging equipment will actually outpace the need for vehicles to plug-in, which will result in many charge spots idled for most of the day, or even days at a time. While this will be the subject of derision as a waste of taxpayer money, if EVs instead outpaced charging infrastructure, it could result in a serious setback as the minority of drivers who plan to regularly charge their vehicles away from home might otherwise wait to make a purchase.

The electric vehicles' second act will be a top media story throughout the year, even at the box office with the mid-year release of Revenge of the Electric Car (watch the trailer). Many consumers will get their first direct exposure to EVs by renting a car from one of the many rental agencies that will make emissions-free driving a premium service. Fleets including delivery vehicles and taxis will be critical for collecting data about EV performance and to build confidence that this time around, EVs are here to stay.

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All 2011 Green Car Vision Award finalists are electric vehicles

The Green Car Journal has nominated five electric vehicles for the 2011 Green Car Vision Award: the Ford Focus BEV, the Honda Fit EV, the future Mitsubishi i model for the American market, the Toyota RAV4 EV (currently under development with Tesla) and the Volvo C30 DRIVe. The winner will be announced on January 27 at the 2011 Washington Auto Show, in the American capital. Here's what the jury has to say about the finalists:

Ford's Focus BEV, which is based on the automaker's all-new 2012 Focus model, will be introduced in the U.S. sometime in 2011. The automaker is leveraging global platforms like the Focus and collaborating with key powertrain suppliers like Magna International as part of its global electrification strategy.

The Honda Fit EV concept shares the direction and styling of the upcoming production Fit EV that will be coming to U.S. shores in 2012. The five-passenger electric will be powered by lithium-ion batteries and feature Econ, Normal, and Sport modes to maximize efficiency or improve acceleration.

Mitsubishi will produce the newly-named Mitsubishi i electric vehicle, a battery powered iteration of the automaker's popular 'i' minicar sold in Japan. Retooled and larger for U.S. tastes, this lithium-ion powered car will be sold in four Western states starting in November 2011 with a national roll-out to follow.

Toyota's second generation RAV4 EV will begin a demonstration program in 2011 with plans for market arrival of a fully-engineered vehicle in 2012. The automaker has partnered with Tesla to fast-track development, with Tesla providing the lithium metal oxide battery and related components and Toyota handling the rest.

The Volvo C30 DRIVe is an electric variant of this automaker's small sport hatchback that's powered by lithium-ion batteries from Indiana-based ENER1. A small test fleet is currently operating in Sweden with a larger demonstration of DRIVe electrics planned for Europe, China, and the U.S. in 2011.

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Fábrica de baterias em Aveiro é para avançar, Minho concorre a unidade da Mitsubishi

Tweet this post O primeiro-ministro português José Sócrates confirmou quarta-feira, 22, durante a cerimónia de entrega dos dez primeiros Nissan Leaf na Europa, em Lisboa, que o projecto da fábrica de baterias eléctricas em Cacia, Aveiro, não foi abandonado. A instalação da unidade que em conjunto com uma fábrica em Inglaterra fornecerá a Nissan na Europa vai decorrer durante o ano de 2011.

Entretanto, e segundo o Jornal de Notícias, o município de Monção anunciou que está na corrida para o acolhimento daquela que é apontada como a futura maior fábrica de baterias da Europa. A unidade da Mitsubishi necessita de uma área superior a 20 campos de futebol. Salvaterra-As Naves, na vizinha Galiza, também concorre ao mega investimento da marca nipónica, integrado na aposta nos carros eléctricos. Após notícias de deficiências na proposta galega, Monção fez saber através da AICEP que está disponível para acolher a Mitsubishi

O autarca de Monção José Emílio Moreira afirma no entanto que não está preocupado com a competição do município galego, já que as duas localidades estão separadas apenas pelo Rio Minho. "Se a fábrica (da Mitsubishi) vier a ser instalada do outro lado da fronteira, para nós continuará a ser uma localização muito boa", disse ao JN.

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Mitsubishi selects Costa Rica for iMIEV's American debut

This time's not California, but Central America's Costa Rica the first place in the continent that will get to see Mitsubishi's iMIEV rolling on its streets for the first time, in early 2011, local media reported.

The small country aims to be the first in the world to become carbon neutral by 2021 and is already hailed by the international community as one of the nations with the most ambitious green policies on the planet.

On the downside, few Costa Ricans will be able or even interested to buy the iMIEV, as it is expected to go on that market for the tag price of 61,500 dollars.

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Nissan and Mitsubishi to develop minicar, in talks for EV joint venture

From Bloomberg: Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will set up a 50-50 joint company next year to develop minicars that may become strategic models sold globally. The minicar would be available for sale in 2012 under the agreement, while Nissan will supply a light van and wagon to Mitsubishi in Japan. Mitsubishi will sell a sport-utility vehicle to Nissan in the Middle East, the automakers said today in a joint statement.

“This agreement is important for Nissan as it supports our expansion in emerging markets, meets immediate capacity needs overseas and enables us to grow our minicar business in Japan,” Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said in a statement.

The partnership gives the manufacturers greater economies of scale while allowing them to enter market segments with less investment. The two carmakers already cooperate by supplying minicars, with engines no larger than 660cc, and commercial vehicles. Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car, and Mitsubishi, which sells the i-MiEV, are in talks about possibly cooperating on electric vehicles, the automakers said.

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