Mitsubishi electric car hits Holland

Courtesy of Mitsubishi News

The 2012 Mitsubishi i Electric Vehicle, or MiEV, arrived on site at VerHage Mitsubishi this past week, making it one of the first five dealerships in Michigan to get one of the all-electric cars for demonstration purposes.

The cars landed in the U.S. West Coast about four months ago, said dealership General Manager Norm VerHage.

It’s a first look at a vehicle on the cutting edge of an industry that’s investing heavily in Holland, although — for now — the MiEV’s lithium-ion battery and other parts are made overseas.

“We’re hoping it takes off pretty well in Holland, in part, because we’ve go a lot of people here building lithium-ion batteries,” VerHage said. He believes Mitsubishi will eventually open U.S. plants to manufacture the vehicles, since shipping the vehicles and their heavy batteries is expensive.

Recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the top-rated car for fuel economy, the MiEV has been on sale in Europe and Asia for some time, with about 16,000 of them on the road in those markets.

Unlike the Chevy Volt, on sale at area General Motors dealers such as DeNooyer Chevrolet for months, the MiEV is powered solely by electricity. More of a runabout than a commuter vehicle — having an average range of 62 miles on a full charge — the car is aimed at three-car families with a household income of more than $100,000, VerHage said. It retails for  about $30,000, but qualifies for a federal tax credit of $7,500.

The MiEV can be charged at one of the charging stations around town or through an adapter that connects to a dedicated 20-amp AC outlet in an owner’s home. A separate 440-volt charge site allows the vehicle to receive an 80 percent charge within half an hour, VerHage said.

After installing charge stations, training employees and buying displays and tools a to work on the cars, adding the MiEV to the dealership’s lineup represented about a $30,000 investment, VerHage said. He’s ordered a total of four of the vehicles and will have one available for sale in about three weeks.

Dealers learned from the Chevy Volt that customers will come in to look at, or test drive, the cutting-edge car, but buy something less avant-garde.

But it’s still a fun test drive — and a quiet one.

“It’s just a whole different way of looking at transportation,” said VerHage salesman Ken Beukelman, who first test-drove the MiEV at a Chicago event in late January. “Actually, I went into it somewhat skeptical, and came out impressed.”