Mitsubishi Motors To Mass-Produce Electric Motorcar in 2010

[jpak]

http://www.enn.com/alt.html?id=236

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Thursday it plans to mass-produce electric motorcars in 2010, while launching a brand-new model of a sport utility vehicle this fall and a mini-vehicle model in January next year.

President Osamu Masuko unveiled the plans at a regular shareholders' meeting as part of the scandal-plagued company's efforts to regain profitability, which was badly affected by a series of vehicle defect coverups.

Masuko said the envisaged electric car will have a lithium-ion battery, emitting no gas and requiring only one-fifth the energy to drive compared with hybrid gasoline-electric cars.

The electric car will be modeled on the mini-vehicle called i, also a brand-new model, and have an "in-wheel motor" system in which a motor is directly attached to the wheels, according to a company official. The car will make its first test run next year, the official said.

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