Embargoed until 00.01am on Saturday 12th December
MITSUBISHI i-MiEV LAUNCHES UK’S LARGEST PUBLIC ELECTRIC CAR TRIAL IN WEST MIDLANDS
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV has today become the first zero emissions fully electric city car to be used on the government funded Technology Strategy Board user trials.
It has a top speed of 81 mph, a range of 100 miles1 and can be trickle charged from flat to full in seven hours at any UK three-pin socket – costing under £1 for a full charge. In addition the i-MiEV can be fast-charged from flat to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes using the quick charger.
Mr Genichiro Nishina, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Europe, said: “Mitsubishi Motors takes an holistic approach to environmental and sustainability issues at every stage of the vehicle’s design, production and in-service lifecycle. The i-MiEV is the most prominent element of our basket of environmental solutions, which makes the prospect of ultra-low carbon transport a present-day reality”.
Endorsing the programme as an i-MIEV driver in the trials, Quentin Willson, said: "These first EVs that go on the Technology Strategy Board's trial mark the start of a seismic shift in the sort of cars we drive and how we power them.
“The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a forerunner of a transport revolution that eventually will change the world. At last here's an electric car that doesn't look like a church pew, seats four, does 80 mph and costs less than a quid to charge. What is there not to love?"
This is the first stage of a Government-supported UK-wide project to trial electric and ultra low emission vehicles – and begins in the West Midlands today. The keys to 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) will be given to independent drivers – including automotive expert Quentin Willson – to test over the next 12 months by the CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium in Centenary Square, Birmingham.
The CABLED consortium will manage the project after being confirmed in June as one of eight successful teams in the £25 million Technology Strategy Board Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrator Competition. The consortium brings together the expertise of 13 West Midlands-based organisations within the engineering, automotive manufacturing, academic, public and infrastructure sectors, and is led by global engineering consultancy Arup.
The project is worth £15 million and will trial 110 vehicles on the roads of Birmingham and Coventry. UK-wide, 340 vehicles are being tested using funding from the Technology Strategy Board. As well as being the largest, CABLED is the first consortium to begin vehicle trials and has recently gained further public backing thanks to £2.5 million funding awarded by Advantage West Midlands (a regional development agency).
Neil Butcher, Arup’s project leader of the CABLED consortium said: “Less than 1% of the vehicles registered every year in the UK are electric and most of these are currently used in London. We think that by 2020, low carbon cars will be commercially viable, and it’s important that we start to understand the public’s reaction and provide the necessary infrastructure to prepare for this.
“Today’s launch is a landmark occasion for the UK automotive industry, and this project will begin to examine the points where the vehicles meet the built environment – energy generation, battery charging and driver behaviour. This is an important first step on our roads to a low-carbon future.”
Drivers selected for the trials of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and 85 other vehicles were chosen through an application process led by Coventry University. The other five manufacturers that will roll out vehicles in 2010, include:
Martyn Mangan, automotive cluster manager for Advantage West Midlands, said: “The West Midlands is expertly positioned to co-ordinate these trials, as home to the UK’s largest regional automotive industry and around 60 per cent of our annual industry research and development is commissioned here.
“CABLED is also a shining example of the West Midlands’ advanced capabilities in manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure. It will play a key role in the wider availability of low emission vehicles on the UK roads, and Advantage West Midlands is fully committed to its development.”
The consortium also benefits from a firm commitment to developing the necessary infrastructure to co-ordinate the trials from E.ON, Birmingham City Council and Coventry City Council, who will provide electrical charging points for vehicles across the two cities as well as access to the University of Birmingham’s hydrogen refuelling station. During the trials, Aston University will be analysing and reporting its conclusions from the data generated by the vehicles.
Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board said: “We created the Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator competition to act as a catalyst for industry, the public sector and academia to collaborate to provide low emission vehicles and solutions to powering them.
“The journey towards low carbon transport will not be easy, but the demonstrator programme is the biggest project of its kind to date and is a major step in the right direction.”
ENDS
For further Mitsubishi Motors information, images and video content please contact the Mitsubishi Press Office on 01285 647 200 or see www.mitsubishipress.co.uk
Andy Wertheim, General Manager Press & Public Affairs a.wertheim@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
Nic Reglar, Press Officer, Product Affairs & Events n.reglar@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
For CABLED media enquiries please contact Tom Rawlings or Stuart Humphrey at Trimedia, 0121 265 2760 or email Tom.Rawlings@trimediauk.com / Stuart.Humphreys@trimediauk.com
NOTES TO EDITOR
About Mitsubishi Motors’ Environmental Credentials
Mitsubishi Motors has been developing electric vehicles since the late 1960s and selling them since the early 1970s. The i-MiEV has been developed by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, and has been a sell-out success since going on sale in Japan in July this year, The 1,400 units allocated by Mitsubishi for the 2009 Japanese market have flown out the door and an impressive 1,500 orders have already been placed in Japan from the 2010 build allocation. European production is expected to begin in October 2010 with left hand drive i-MiEV’s available in markets across Continental Europe towards the end of the year.
Mitsubishi Motors is also investing heavily in carbon reduction programmes at every stage of its operations, including design, production, tailpipe emissions and end of life recycling as a part of its Environment Initiative Programme 2010 and its Environmental Vision 2020.
More information on Mitsubishi Motors’ environmental credentials can be found at www.mitsubishipress.co.uk and via pressoffice@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk.
About the CABLED consortium
The West Midlands consortium, called CABLED - short for Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators – is made up of 13 organisations, led by Arup, a company with experience that crosses all areas that touch this project, from vehicle design to planning to infrastructure and energy. The consortium will develop and demonstrate 110 road-worthy vehicles to be trialled in the two cities over 12 months. Part funding for the project has been requested from the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.
Each of the six vehicle manufacturers – Jaguar/Land Rover, Mitsubishi/Colt, Mercedes Benz/Smart, Tata Motors, LTI and Microcab Industries – are contributing their own vehicles towards the low carbon scheme, which includes a mix of fully electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars.
Electricity providers E.ON are delivering charging points for the trial with assistance from the city councils of Birmingham and Coventry.
Three of the Midland’s leading universities play a major role in the scheme with Coventry University undertaking the selection process of drivers, Aston University analysing vehicle usage data and the University of Birmingham contributing access and expertise gained from its hydrogen fuelling station, which is currently one of the very few of its kind in UK. A new hydrogen station is planned for Coventry University.
About the West Midlands Automotive Cluster
The West Midlands has the largest of the UK’s regional automotive clusters, delivering 28 per cent of output in the UK. It represents just over 1,500 companies, employs around 115,000 people and generates an annual turnover of £13 billion.
Businesses in the region are collaborating on a range of innovative projects in the whole area of low carbon and electric vehicles. Many of these are supported by regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.
Advantage West Midlands is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England whose role is to transform the English regions through sustainable economic development. For more information visit: www.advantagewm.co.uk
The Technology Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Competition
As part of the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, £25 million has been allocated to eight highly innovative, industry-led collaborative research projects in the field of ultra low carbon vehicle development and demonstration. The competition, which culminated in June with the announcement of successful applicants, focused on encouraging the development of industry-led consortia that can deliver in bringing significant numbers of vehicles onto roads quickly. The competition winners will deliver over 340 new innovative cars on the road in eight locations around the UK in the next six to 18 months.
About the Technology Strategy Board’s contribution
The government-backed Technology Strategy Board is working with business to speed up the development of low carbon vehicles, towards the point where they become a practical reality and UK business can benefit from the future commercial opportunities.
The winning projects receive a total of £25 million as part of an ongoing commitment to invest jointly with the industry to speed up the introduction of low carbon vehicles. This will support the investment already made by the consortia themselves and is the most significant step to date in the UK of a co-ordinated move towards low carbon transport.
To meet the UK’s commitment to an 80% cut in carbon emissions by 2050, the carbon output of transport - currently a quarter of all UK emissions - has to be significantly reduced. The vehicles that we drive need to be part of the solution.
The journey towards low carbon transport will not be easy but the demonstrator programme is a major step in the right direction. With over 340 cars being trialled in several regions across the UK, and with the involvement of large and small manufacturers, RDAs, local authorities, universities and infrastructure companies, it is the biggest project of its kind to date.
About the Technology Strategy Board
The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non departmental public body, established by government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploration of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, innovation and Skills (BIS). For further information please visit www.innovateuk.org.
1 Driving pattern: Japan 10-15 mode
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