Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has chosen Toshiba Corp.’s rechargeable battery for two new models of its electric vehicles coming out later this year, the two companies said Thursday.
The lower-priced version of the i-MiEV electric car, which Mitsubishi plans to roll out this summer, will carry Toshiba’s super charge ion battery, or SCiB.
Mitsubishi will set the price of the i-MiEV so that the effective retail price will be below Y2 million, taking into account government subsidies for electric cars. The range of the new model will be shortened to around 120 kilometers on a single charge, as fewer batteries will be installed to reduce costs.
The actual cost of the currently sold i-MiEV, which has a range of 160 kilometers, is Y2.98 million thanks to government subsidies of about Y1 million a car.
Another electric car to be launched this winter, the Minicab-MiEV small commercial van, will also carry the SCiB battery, the companies said.
Toshiba said it will manufacture the SCiB used in Mitsubishi’s new electric cars at its specialized SCiB plant in northern Japan, which opened in February.
