Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans eventually to cut the purchase price of the i-MiEV electric car by more than half to less than ¥2 million as government incentives and tighter emission rules boost demand for fuel-efficient cars.
The company will cut the i-MiEV's price tag by the "mid-2010s," MMC President Osamu Masuko said Monday at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Tokyo. The price target includes tax breaks and subsidies from the government, he added. The carmaker will start selling the i-MiEV in July for ¥4.6 million.
Mitsubishi Motors is unveiling its electric cars ahead of plans by larger rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. to introduce similar vehicles by 2012. MMC aims to sell 1,400 i-MiEVs domestically in the year ending March 31 and will start North American sales next year.
Nissan has said it plans to introduce electric cars in Japan and the U.S. in 2010 and mass-produce them globally in 2012. Toyota, the world's largest maker of gasoline-electric hybrid cars, is also developing electric cars for sale in 2012.
Prime Minister Taro Aso is giving buyers of fuel-efficient cars subsidies and tax breaks for new vehicles to spur sales as part of a ¥15.4 trillion economic stimulus program. The government expects the incentives to increase vehicle sales by about 1 million this fiscal year.
Mitsubishi Motors plans to sell a plug-in hybrid version of the i-MiEV in 2013, the company said Monday.