Peugeot EV may be for Australia
PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has announced plans to sell an electric car in Europe starting next year and Peugeot Cars Australia will be looking to market the car in Australia.
PSA said it had signed an agreement with Mitsubishi to develop an electric car for the European market based on i MiEV four-door car (as pictured), which goes on sale in Japan this summer.
The car will be sold under the Peugeot brand starting in late 2010 alongside a European version of the i MiEV, which Mitsubishi will market.
Peugeot Australia spokesman Mathew McAuley said although the plan at the moment referred only to Europe “we will obviously be raising the availability with head office as we would obviously like to offer the car locally.”
In addition, Citroen is planning innovative electric vehicle concepts such as the electric C-Cactus concept car.
PSA and Mitsubishi have been studying ways to cooperate on electric powertrains for city cars since last June.
As part of the agreement, Mitsubishi will offer PSA its electric expertise, while PSA will bring European manufacturing capacity and experience with zero-emission vehicles to the project.
PSA describes itself as "the largest global manufacturer of electric vehicles," based sales of more than 10,000 units of previous-generation zero-emission vehicles during the 1990s.
The announcement brings Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and PSA Peugeot Citroën one step closer to marketing electric vehicles in Europe.
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