2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV
Despite being considered a sales flop, Mitsubishi's electric cars keep on coming and the company still perseveres with churning out new models.
Now, Mitsubishi's decided to go ahead with marketing its newest electric car: the 2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV. It will hit the market early March.
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is widely considered the smallest four-seat electric car in North America. Unfortunately, the car's size has been directly relevant to its sales. The last i-MiEV model was released in 2013 and has since sold less than 2,000 units.
That's miles away compared to the sales of its direct competitor, the Nissan Leaf, which holds a record of 72,300 unit sold, according to Green Car Reports.
To boost sales, Mitsubishi decided to cut the price of its 2014 models. Mitsubishi slashed the price by as much $6,000 and added a CHAdeMO DC fast charger as standard equipment. Unfortunately, the strategy was unsuccessful.
The current price of the 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV is $22,995, including the $6,000 price cut, according to Auto Evolution.
Mitsubishi has yet to issue an official specification for the 2016 i-MiEV but analysts are positive it will be out soon.
Many critics pointed out the MiEV's limited driving range compared to the Nissan Leaf. The i-MiEV only has a 16 kWh battery pack, which is only about two-thirds the mileage compared to the Leaf's battery. The i-MiEV's 62-mile driving range is also one of the lowest for any battery operated electric car available in the United States.
Analysts are more inclined towards the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid, which has already seen fair success in Asia and some European markets.
