Mitsubishi-Peugeot partnership to plug into European electric auto market

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp has signed an agreement with France's Peugeot Citroën to sell electric minicars in Europe.

The green vehicles will be based on Mitsubishi’s all-electric, zero-emission i-MiEV, which was launched earlier this year in Japan.

Production of minicars for the European market is to start in October 2010, with commercial sales slated by the end of the year, the companies said at the weekend.

The vehicles will be manufactured in Japan and sold in two versions under the Peugeot and Citroën brands. The French carmaker said it aims to sell 25,000 units in Europe annually.

The i-MiEV is currently in limited production in Japan, where domestic sales of 1,400 units are targeted by March 2010, rising to 15,000 in 2011.

Peugeot and Mitsubishi hope to eventually sell 50,000 of the electric autos per year, with Europe accounting for half of the sales, and the remainder being sold in Japan and the rest of the world.

A similar Franco-Japanese partnership, the Renault-Nissan Alliance – by the respective homegrown rivals of Peugeot and Mitsubishi – was forged in 1999 to produce electric vehicles for the global market.

Nissan Motor Co last month unveiled the mid-sized hatchback Leaf electric vehicle. It is expected to be in showrooms in Japan, the US and Europe by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, Renault is expected to premier three electric vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.