The day when The United States and Canada gets access to Mitsubishi Motor’s own fully electric and zero emissions vehicle is fast approaching. Production has officially started on the U.S.-spec i-MiEV at the company’s Mizushima, Japan plant. At first, the compact four door sometimes simply called the “i” will be available in California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii starting at the end of November. By the end of the 2012 fiscal year, the “i” will be on sale throughout the rest of the U.S. and Canada.
To get the i-MiEV ready for North American sales, certain safety features had to be added to the already produced Japanese-spec car. A tire pressure monitoring system and airbag system that detects seating pressure to control deployment force were added. In addition to the safety features, the car’s electric motor was given a bump in torque, the bumpers were reinforced and the body and interior volume has been stretched ever so slightly. With North American availability ready to take place, the i-MiEV will soon be completely global.
Source: Mitsubishi
