French automaker Peugeot-Citroen is going nuts for electric vehicles, but rather than building them it will slap its logo on boatloads of Mitsubishis.
The Japanese company has agreed to build 100,000 i-MiEV electric cars for the French company under a contract that runs through 2015, according to Automotive News Europe. It's a smart move for everyone involved. Beyond helping Mitsubishi boost volume, cut costs and recoup its investment in the electric runabout, the deal allows Peugeot-Citroen to quickly and easily compete against Renault in the electric arena.
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is determined to get EVs on the road this year. Nissan promises to have the Leaf EV in showrooms by November, and Renault rolls out an EV next year. Peugeot-Citroen agreed last year to buy 25,000 cars from Mitsubishi, then doubled the order late last year and again in February, according to ANE. The French company wants to sell 25,000 electric vehicles annually, split evenly among its two brands, but hitting that target will take awhile because Mitsubishi is still ramping up battery production. The Japanese company has the capacity to build just 9,000 batteries in the next year.
The Japanese-French EV will be called the Peugeot iOn and the Citroen C-Zero. Although mechanically identical to the iMiEV, they will have restyled bumpers and interiors and "different handling characteristics." Peugeot-Citroen brand director Jean-Marc Gales told ANE the cars will be available by the end of the year. They'll cost about 30,000 Euros, which works out to $40,770.
"We are not ruling out fleet sales, but our main target is urban private buyers with a sense of style and the environment," Gales said.
As for the iMiEV, it's already on sale for fleet use in Japan. Consumers will be able to buy them starting next month. The car arrives in Europe at the end of the year and in the United States in 2011.
The four-seat iMiEV uses a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery with a claimed range of 100 miles and a recharge time of seven hours when plugged into a 220-volt line. Propulsion comes from a 47 kilowatt (63 horsepower) AC syncronous motor. Top speed is 80 mph.
Photo: Peugeot
