The price of being green
The US Department of Energy has predicted that batteries for electric vehicles, which account for nearly 60 per cent of the cost, will be 70 per cent cheaper by 2015.
The same report suggests they could halve in price again by 2020.
This means that batteries that cost more than $33,000 today could be as cheap as $5000 by 2020.
It also means that the Mitsubishi iMiEV, which will become the first mass-production electric car sold in Australia when it hits dealerships in August, will be significantly cheaper in four years.
It is an issue that Mitsubishi acknowledged last week when it announced the iMiEV would sell for $48,800 plus on-road costs, which is more than 20 per cent cheaper than it was 12 months ago when it was available to corporations on a special lease.
Paul Stevenson, Mitsubishi Australia's vice-president of corporate strategy, admitted that early adopters of the car would take a financial hit to be at the cutting edge of technology.
"All the people who buy the car now know what's going to happen," he said. "That's just the nature of technology."
In exchange, they will be among the first Australians to own the latest EV technology and will reduce their carbon footprint.
The US report also predicted that battery weight would continue to drop while range increased. In the next 10 years we can expect to see battery weight drop from around 300kg to 50kg while range will increase from 160km to 200km. The 2012 iMiEV has been fitted with additional features to improve occupant safety and comfort levels.
Safety has been enhanced with the addition of side and curtain airbags and electronic stability control. And an in-cable circuit breaker has been added to the electric management system to make recharging safer while the vehicle management system will shut down high-voltage electric systems in a crash.
The car's battery pack will be covered by a five-year warranty and the rest of the car for 10 years.
After 10 years the company claims the batteries will still have at least 80 per cent efficiency.
Mitsubishi also has plans for a plug-in hybrid ASX compact SUV, which could be here within 12 months.
