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Mitsubishi dealers ‘electrified’

10th January 2011 Print
Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has today announced its nominated dealers who will become fully functioning Mitsubishi EV Sales Centres from January 2011. By January 10th the approved dealerships will have 2 fully trained sales personnel in i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) and they will also have a broader understanding of future Mitsubishi pure EV and plug-in hybrid technologies.

The nominated EV Sales Centre personnel will undertake an extensive training programme so that there is not only a very clear understanding of the demands and requirements of electric vehicles for consumers but also so that they understand the wider industry issues relating to the EV marketplace.  Their after-sales departments will also comply with compulsory manufacturer training and require specialist tools to enable the service and maintenance of electric vehicles. All of Mitsubishi’s 118 UK dealerships will be appointed as EV Service Centre’s as of 10th January 2010 giving national after-sales coverage.

There are a total of 13 authorised EV Sales Centres including the Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Centre in London, and they are:

Phoenix Mitsubishi Edinburgh
Motor Wey Putney Greater London
London Electric Vehicle Centre Central London
Manchester Mitsubishi North West
Hodgson Mitsubishi North East
Souls Mitsubishi East Midlands
Fields Mitsubishi West Midlands
Fife Mitsubishi Scotland
Livery Dole South West
Tees Valley North East
K & R Mitsubishi South West
Donnelly Brothers Northern Ireland
Eastbourne Mitsubishi South East

Mitsubishi Motors is the first manufacturer in the world to mass produce an electric vehicle, Lance Bradley, the UK’s Managing Director has reiterated Mitsubishi’s intentions to promote and establish

“This is a really exciting time for Mitsubishi Motors and having the first mass produced fully electric vehicle in the UK market puts us at the forefront of a new era in the automotive industry.  The Pure EV is now a reality. We are more than confident that our carefully selected 13 Mitsubishi EV Centres will provide excellent service and be able to offer the best advice to our retail and fleet customers.”

All Mitsubishi EV Sales Centres will have demonstrator vehicles that will be available for potential customers to properly test and experience what it is like to drive and ‘own’ an electric vehicle in real-life conditions.  In addition a fully functioning charging bay will also be available.

In order to gain more information about the usage of electric vehicles, Mitsubishi Motors has been supporting various Government trials since December 2009. This includes the Technology Strategy Board’s (TSB) £25m Ultra Low Carbon demonstrator programme in the West Midlands managed by the CABLED consortium.

Mitsubishi Motors contributed by being the first manufacturer to supply a total of 25 electric vehicles fitted with data loggers to independent users as part of the 12 month project. The CABLED consortium tested the vehicles in real-life conditions and although the most up to date results are to be published later this month, latest research from the UK’s largest study into long term low carbon vehicles reveals an increase in driver confidence, the first real-world analysis of the cost of ‘refuelling’ and new information on charging trends.

Mitsubishi Motors has also been in discussion with several councils across the UK supporting the ‘Plugged in Places’ scheme. ‘Plugged in Places’ is an initiative to install publicly accessible electric charging points for electric vehicles in cities and regions in the UK.  Milton Keynes, London and Newcastle have been successful in the first phase and the successful bidding consortia in the second phase are based in the Midlands, Greater Manchester, East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

From August 2010, UK customers have been able to order the i-MiEV via Mitsubishi’s assigned London Electric Vehicle Centre.  This facility has already taken orders for vehicle deliveries throughout January 2011 from all areas of the car market – retail, small business and large fleets including local councils. The i-MiEV is on sale now priced at £23,990 for orders placed for delivery from January 2011 including the UK government’s consumer incentive, the Plugged-In Car Grant (P-ICG) of £5,000.

Mitsubishi Motors has recently announced their contract hire pricing and personal payment plans starting from as little as £399 per month.

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Mitsubishi i-MiEV