Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars to run in West Midlands

The first group of Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicles has just arrived at Portbury Docks near Bristol. The 25 i-MiEV cars are heading to West Midlands, where the automobiles will be taking part in a trial run being carried out by the local government in collaboration with Coventry University.

The i-MiEV cars will be participating in one of West Midland government’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator projects, organized by the Technology Strategy Board. During the 12-month project, the public will have a chance to test run the electric vehicles to evaluate their performances.

The Mitsubishi green vehicles were shipped from Japan six weeks ago. The arrival of i-MiEV has been eagerly waited by green think tanks and car enthusiasts who followed Mitsubishi’s Facebook fan page.

The award winning Mitsubishi i-MiEV city car is the first electric vehicle with no tailpipe emission. It has four passenger seats and a room for luggage. Moreover, the green automobile can run at a maximum speed of 81mph and can travel up to 100 miles when fully charged. Recharging the i-MiEV only costs 96p and can be done for six hours at a UK-standard, three-pinned socket.

In other related news, the first trial of green cars in North East England started last week when four electric Smart cars were delivered by Cenex.

Meanwhile, One North East had provided £314 thousand for the ECO2Trans project, a research programme that will convert electric-powered Gulliver U500EUK buses into hydrogen-based vehicles. The ECO2Trans buses are planned to be tested in Sunderland.