Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia recently registered the first fully electric car in the country; the unit, an i-MiEV, will be used in a suite of activities to promote public awareness on EVs. The car’s public debut was at a special showcase at One Utama that took place on October 19–23, where visitors to the event had an opportunity to ride in the i-MiEV.
“Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia is pleased to be the first to bring in a mass-produced full-electric car to Malaysia to promote the awareness of zero-emission electric vehicles among the Malaysian public,” said MMM CEO Tetsuya Oda.
“Malaysians will get to know more about the innovative technology behind the i-MiEV, and experience for themselves the benefits of an electric vehicle, as test drives will be available for the first i-MiEV in Malaysia,” he added.
The i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) is powered solely by electricity, and can be recharged from a regular home socket. The four-seater, which has 49 kW and 180 Nm for output figures, has a top speed of 130 km/h and an operating range of up to 160 kilometres, after an eight-hour charge at 230 volts. Wonder how they calculated the road tax on this one though.
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Naive. no free lunch in this world. How govt. to work? killing ? hahaha.
Only brought one in? Good luck then.
Tan Chong, go ahead and bring in the Leaf!!!
1st electric mass production, sabar lah.adoi
i think JPJ calculates the road tax based on watts. 50,000 w & below = RM20.
I’ve heard before JPJ have their own ‘genius’ equation to calculating KW to cc..and of course when convert to CC is easier for roadtax…
But for almost a year, i still not find a right ‘equation’ LOL
why not we follow big cities like london?
cars with high emission level will be charged congestion tax/fee like 5 pounds per entry. LEV or ZEV will be exempted due to their contribution to environment.
if not mistaken, california was badly polluted that all new cars must have LEV status by law.
I think california badly polluted bcause they’re enacted to use 2cycle oil+gasoline mixture..
No wonder because this type of fuel emit 2X smoke on regular gasoline
california has more cars per person than any city in the world. thats why they are also now the strictest when it comes to emissions.. also, its hard to charge a congestion charge, when practically everyone is already paying toll on their way into the city. if a congestion charge was to be implemented, for off-peak periods, it must be free (at night..etc.) similar to Singapore even where you dont pay ERP on weekends and off-peak.
no need a genius. convert watts to hp then to cc.
Is MMM seriously bringing in i-MiEV or just PR lap-dance?
Serious- Where are the recharge point when out of home or disposable after 160km?
PR show – Damage beyond repair or another re-badge coming soon?
Now i wonder how the road tax going be………
wonder how the tax would be…
50,000w or below = RM20
Where is Malaysia P1 EMAS? Do EMAS = Emergency Missing in Action Schedule? Why always late. Waste $$$$ to buy lousy prototype design but cant release.
Fyi, P1 full electric was successfully registered in early october. Probably earlier than imiev.
So much the hype.
wow..interesting..but i leave in apartment, 3rd floor..huhuhu…how to charge it..
just drop by those wifi available mamak’s restaurant…many laptops charge there..hoho
office, R&R or guard house….
Call AAM…
berapa ringgit?
Nice. How much?
i respect MMM for bringing this to malaysia, but why must they come up with such an ugly design!? The Tesla or Fisker Karma S is proof that electric cars doesn’t have to be ugly
the miev defies its logic of being small and light while able to carry more than 2 people with luggage.
the design must also meets aerodynamic requirement to reduce drag which taxes power output and reduce efficiency / travel distance.
it must also fulfil tough collision assesment, while the car itself must be cheap enough for mass production.
the Tesla is premium luxury EV with price tags beyond reach of ordinary people while Fisker Karma is a hybrid car, having an internal engine like a Prius and therefore is not an EV.
mitsubishi i-miev is a mass production car aiming the public as its target market.
Hmm .. Sudah kau tim JPJ?
i-miev!! i like the idea of paying no petrol! bring it on
i tot JPJ rules is…
vehicle with NO ENGINE can not be registered!!!
this is a stupid answer given by our beloved tranz minister when a lot of aunties wanted 2 use their china make electric motor powered scooter on the road…
at the end… all these scooters are banned to use!!!
Yes.. totally support “Why electric bicycle being ban” JPJ should think.. Motor and Battery is engine la. It might be they also no engine.. can’t use the road.
Those jpj fellas are sill living in dino era.
Btw anthony, u should post this before the event so that we have a chance to try it. Now too late lah
If I’d known, I would most certainly have. They only sent the release after the fact, as in yesterday evening.
now vehicle without engine can register after amendment to road transport act. but need to pass vehicle type approval first.
if so… i will convert my kancil 2 EV immediately!!!
sounds perfect for me working in KL city, 160kms and home wall plug is plenty enough, much better than saga ev 80kms range only
The 160km is maximum range. when battery life reached end or halflife.. It will look like your handphone. Auto Off.. You need cry that time. Malaysia also no charging station. It totally cant use here.
stupid, the article says you charge from home plug, if i know i’m going for long distance why the hell would i take a car i KNOW only has 160kms.
jesus how stupid are you?
Hope you can buy one first and let us know the outcome of feeling. Japan and Europe also can’t fully utilizing EV because battery charging issue. That’s is why Nissan now do R&D creating better and faster charging battery. EV also not environment friendly. Battery destroy the world. More and more battery will be accumulated. That battery is extremely toxic to human and difficult to dispose also. One more ..It is costly.
Because europe has fantastic diesels and there is no need for EV cars, we don’t get Euro spec fuel and probably never will since proton also is pursuing electric cars and they will be demolished if there are euro spec fuels.
If you notice, Nissan has no good diesel engine, so they put their money on electric instead hoping that it will catch on.
And the home charging period is only 8 hours, if you can charge your iphone every night, is it so difficult to do it with the car as well?
euro4 diesel will be here by 2013.. while other part of the world might use euro6 by that time. better than nothing, we can use today’s tech in 2 years time. haha!
Hope Gavin be understand people concern.. Please be better human. Do you know how long the home plug charging period? Make the research.. you will know.. what other people concern for you.
that’s why i think the most sensible way to go for EV is RE-EV, like exora. you can charge the battery using the engine. that’s for NOW until battery technology evolve further.
i think car maker should combine plug in ev with solar cell to charge battery for malaysia or any other country near the equator..malaysia is very lucky to has sun light so bright that burn our skin inside out all yr round..more saving for consumer as well…what can i see all ev car do not do that since most ev car come from cooler country which charging using sun not the best option..proton should think bout that…..right now i see EV car is EV car…hydrogen car is hydrogen car..solar car is solar car…even though hydrogen n solar car is EV car….diff method same outcome, electricity
If surface area on top of the car is fully covered with solar cells, let say about 2 m x 2 m (exclude windshield, etc) you would have only 4 m2. Solar energy intensity in Malaysia is perhaps average around 600 W/m2. With only 6 hours of intense sunlight and solar cell efficiency of around 25% max, the total energy storage per day, E = (600 W/m2) x (4m2) x (0.25) x 6 hrs = 3600 Wh = 3.6 kWh of energy. If low speed (70 km/h city driving) power requirement is only 8 kW, that energy could power up the EV for 0.45 hour or a distance of 31.5 km per day. Just sharing, I could be wrong.
well at least for now…maybe future we have better tech for solar tech..
maybe TNB people dont like what i said using solar instead of charging at home…huhuhu
Good for government, actually. The government is paying heavy subsidy to buy Coal and Gas. If we can move to smart grid, therefore harvesting the power of sunlight (which is incidentally abundance in our country) and supplying it back to the grid at waaaayyyy much cheaper price than what the IPPs are producing. It will save the government and us too a lot of money.
Anyway, like Paul’s previous article on Nissan’s battery, would like to see the battery technology improve. 2 hour of charging time is just too long.
1. another way that i can think of is using inductive charging…no need to use plug only electromagnetic field….i just thinking bout it since there is phone charger using inductive charging..if mobile phone can why not car….
2. when i still a kiddies i have toy car with track..the track give power to the car so that the car moving by interaction between 2 touching metal surface…if toy car can why not car
more like science fiction/ fantasy ..hey many think come from science fiction/fantasy now become science fact n reality…
KZM, I like ur #2. D technology is already exist now. U can c our commuter train using overhead powr supply. But, need to think again, someday org start curi letrik. Mesia of course boleh!
Hey, I saw one in public space, its stuck at a pillar in front of the transport ministry, the one and only. So, before going to work, we can charge it there.
Use battery to charge the car la. haha.. bring some Energizer or Duracell. haha
Price will be like a Colt. And we all know the reasons.
imagine got stuck in a traffic jam with low battery and you’re far away from home. well, hybrid is better until they improve the battery capacity and charging time.
This is meant for town driving, not to travel to antartica!
Possible price?? No import tax like hybrids :). First all electric car here? Hopefully more will come….!!!!
Makes me wonder how is proton progress with its ev project. Zero pollution with this tech. Come to papa…
There is no such thing as zero pollution or green car. Just because you don’t have a fuel burning engine with an exhaust pipe doesn’t mean you car produces zero emission or pollution.
Where does the electricity comes from? Yes, from TNB. They burn coal/gas/oil to generate electricity.
Assuming that the entire world’s energy is being produce with the use of wind and wind turbine, that doesn’t mean it is green. The make these high tech equipments, you’ll need to use ‘rare earth materials’, you’ll have to level an entire mountain just to extract a fraction of these minerals and to process them means the by product is radioactive, read wikipedia and you’ll know.
The only thing green about any green product thing is the logo and the excessive use of green colour in their fonts.
i agree with ur argument…there is no such thing as zero pollution but zero emission since there is no gas to emit only heat is release or transfer or change. if u said hydrogen car (aka ev oso) there might be some emission, water vapor n CO2 if not mistaken will be emit or release…but for sure there is no zero pollution
You are either a realist or a pessimist. We still have to do something instead of just sitting on our backside and complaining. It is true that the mix of electricity generation TODAY still come from natural gas, coal, etc. But it is easier to control pollution from a single source instead of hundreds of thousands on the road. Plus, overall looking at the system efficiency EVs beat internal combustion engine all the time. Meaning less fuel burnt (at the source of energy) and less pollution to environment.
Yes, less fuel burned. But more radioactive material created. You can reduce consumption, but you can’t stop consumption.
The best method is to change our way of life instead of changing the method we consume energy.
Fully support your comment. EV is not the perfect suitable solution to take care the earth. It only gimmick to overcome petrol crisis. Those marketing people is overwhelming using reason till said environment safe or friendly. The battery is worst than CO created.
internal combustion engines create heat, and it is worse when 1 million of cars are bumper-to-bumper struggling with peak our traffic – all those creating heat which are directly contributing to global warming.
do we realise how bad is global warming to the earth now?
see how bad is thailand flood disaster. that was caused by melting icebergs due to increasing world temperature.
think.
think.
not many people know that ozone layer r started to heal up but very slow process…just google “ozone layer heal”
Latukbandar, don’t you realize that there are different types of electric motors? The one used in Tesla is a high speed induction motor with 200 N.m torque and 12,000 rpm max speed without any usage of rare earth permanent mgnet inside.
And as an example, lead acid batteries are about 95% recylable and I believe once the industry become mature enough, the lithium polymer batteries will also reach the same level of recyleability.
The source of the problem is energy production that produce pollution. EV does not have tailpipe emissions and if one day perhaps clean fusion power would become reality.
Until then the choice is yours; 1. Use conventional cars with internal combustion engines and complaint about high fuel prices and emissions, 2. Use EV and pay less in terms of $/miles and zero tailpipe emissions or perhaps 3. Ride a donkey or a cow to work, complaint about smelly donkey fart and greenhouse gas emissions (methane) produced from cow’s butt.
Alot of people just commenting without much understanding on EVs.
1. If you’re stuck in the jam, the electric motor is not drawing any current from the battery pack. Only need power for accessories and AC.
2. Most people travel less than 100 km per day (90% perhaps), so this car is perfect for commuters. It is not designed for intercity driving.
3. Electric motor efficiency is about 95% maximum while the internal combustion engine at best is 40%. So, when fuel price increases to certain threshold level it will be more economical to use EVs.
4. With all new cars, they need to pass VTA (Vehicle Type Approval) and new regulation for EVs already stated that only chassis number is needed for engine. The story about minister saying EVs can’t be registered is old news.
5. To beat this “range anxiety”, there are two possible solutions i. Battery pack changing station, you just drive in and robot will replace the depleted pack with fully charged pack in less than 2-3 minutes (already under testing in Japan on EV taxis), ii. On-board generator, which in a way the vehicle is a plug-in series hybrid (when the battery energy level is low, the engine turn on and provide power to the motor and to charge the battery pack).
There is no single solution to address current problem of sustainable mobility. EVs is just one of them, together with better public transportation and new kind of hybrid vehicles coming into the market soon.
correction “only chassis number is needed, no engine number is required.”
u should add solar pack or solar addon system eg solar panel spoiler..perfect solution for long range travel…
On your point 5(i), as far as car design and packaging goes, at this point of time, the batteries become an integral part of the car’s structure (we’re talking about thousands of lithium-ion cells tucked in between the car’s chassis), which makes it next to impossible for them to be removed in, like, 10 minutes. But let’s keep our hopes up.
On your point 5(ii), thought there’s the Range-Extender engine already available in the market?
Hope fuel cell which used in the “Terminator” robot can be created in order to last long about the car life without charging needed.. haha
terminator use nuclear power cell if not mistaken
Transformer also use nuclear power. Technology is to create. Not to forever said can’t. Car only need very very small quantity of nuclear. We must have futuristic mind. This only can success.
You haven’t look at the Nissan EV taxi yet? They are designed with removable battery pack. So your hope is not dashed as at least 1 OEM is looking into this.
The only range extender EV available in the market is the Fisker Karma. Proton Exora could be next. However, both are not available yet to mass market as Fisker Karma price range is beyond what an average person would pay for a car (about USD 80,000) and Proton Exora hybrid will be made available to government first.
When did they register?? Exect date pls Mr Author… Thanks.
about time.
What will happen when stuck in traffic jam? operating range of up to 160 kilometres equal to how many hours in static mode?
Lol. Electric car don’t move = no use of electricity. Your air-con and stereo on the other hand is something else.
P1 should aware of this news. i-MiEV will compete with EMAS…where EMAS P1?????????
lucky Expatriate VN does not interrupt here
now we know proton is going to rebadge this into Emas.
Things to think and do something:
1. Charging centre: for orang rumah flet need a place to charge when d batt flat. Other places??? U still can travel KL-Temerloh abt 140km. Only 1 way journey. If no charging centre, balik nnt naik car carrier. A journey with no return……..
2. The government thru its Min Tpt need to review and make ammendment to the Road Tpt Act. Dat’s y they do not knw how to charge the road tax. Seems d act origin wuz frm British, they have to check back hw British enact the act now for electric car. But my worry is, the gov always slow to take action.
3. Tax / Duty exemption. Hybrid can, electric also must get.
Malaysia should be charging congestion charges for vehicles over 1.3kcc, inclusive of toll charges for road maintenance, eg, putrajaya to kl, mex highway, a car below 2.0 and higher than 1.3 will be charged 2.50 + 5.00 per entry into kl. over 2.0 will be charged rm1 per 500cc intervals.
Registered busses and trains will not be charged, but have selected bus companies to remand avoid any illegal entry which can cause chaos. Money for congestion charges can be used to maintain sidewalks, add skywalks and safer pedestrian crossings.