Hybrids and EVs at the 2009 New York Auto Show

The 2009 New York Auto Show runs the balance of this week and through the weekend, ending on Sunday, April 19. While many manufacturers are showing off their latest hybrids (including Chevrolet's Volt, Ford's Fusion Hybrid, Honda's Insight and Toyota's Prius), a few EV manufactures are thumping their chests with their all-electric hardware as well. Highly promising among them is the Mitsubishi i MiEV.

The company's i MiEV promises to be the world's first practical all-electric vehicle built by any major automobile manufacturer. Fleet sales are scheduled to begin July 2009 in Japan and move worldwide thereafter. Just to nail home their commitment, company officials announced at the New York show that they are joining the State of Oregon and Portland General Electric (PGE) in the i MiEV partnership program, that will, according to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, "... create opportunity for its commitment to a greener future - wins for our economy and our environment." PGE is installing a network of charging stations across its service territory in Oregon and the backing of Mitsubishi and the i MiEVs further cements its support of next-generation EVs. The electric company already has over a dozen charging stations operational in its territory and we had an opportunity to snap a picture of one of the City of Portland EV chargers while doing business in the city last fall.

Here's how we see it all panning out: It doesn't cost municipalities a lot of money to build charging stations (the components are relatively inexpensive and electricity is abundant nearly everywhere), and the fiscal commitment is relatively "budget benign." Really, it's only a matter of time until the economics of electric propulsion prove out and EVs (both of the NEV variety and full-range cruisers) are part of the everyday "personal vehicle" locomotion landscape in metropolitan areas throughout the world.

Mitsubishi all-electric i MiEV Sport © Scott Gable