Mitsubishi i MiEVs Arrive Stateside for Testing

We reported earlier this year about Mitsubishi’s partnership with California utilities Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric to test plug-in electric vehicles on California’s grid.

Now those vehicles have arrived. A fresh batch of Mitsubishi i MiEVs arrived in the Sunshine State this past week, and the utility companies will begin testing their impact on the electrical grid immediately.

Although the cars are strictly for testing purposes at the moment, Mitsubishi has speculated that the MiEVs could be on sale in the U.S. in as little as a year and a half. This would be about on schedule with the Chevy Volt’s debut, and seems even more likely in the wake of other EV-related announcements.

Nissan, for example, has partnered with the state of Oregon to bring electrical vehicles along with a compatible grid there, while the mayors of the Bay Area (San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland) have formed a partnership to promote EVs as well.

California Utilities Testing Mitsubishi i MiEV (Technoride)