Word directly from Mitsubishi on date of USA 2014 MiEV

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acensor

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
371
Location
Southern Oregon
I wrote them and told them that on their site it shows the 2014 available but when you click on Build and Price it isn't a listed model of car in the dropdown, etc, etc.

"Dear Mr. Censor,

We apologize for the confusion on the website about the availability of the 2014 iMIEV. The release of the '14 model is scheduled for late Spring. We are excited about the release of the newer model iMIEV as we will offer a substantial price cut in the price of the vehicle of apprimately $6000.00. Pricing of the vehicle on the Build and Price page will be available as we get closer to launch. If you would like to receive periodic updates on the availability of the vehicle, you can provide your email address under the "Vehicles' section on our website where it prompts you to enter your email address to receive future iMIEV updates.

Thank you for your interest in what we feel is the greenest, most economical vehicle on the planet.

Warmest regards, "
 
Mitsubishi said:
"... If you would like to receive periodic updates on the availability of the vehicle, you can provide your email address under the "Vehicles' section on our website where it prompts you to enter your email address to receive future iMIEV updates."
Well, I tried that. One goes to the Mitsubishi site <http://www.mitsubishicars.com/>, there is no i-MiEV shown under "Vehicles", and no apparent way of implementing what they just said. They made the announcement about the 2014 i-MiEV what, a couple of months ago? Just how long does it take to update a website?

As Rodney Dangerfield said "I don't get no respect"
 
I signed up for the updates probably a month ago. I guess they don't have any updates because I didn't get any emails from them. "Late Spring" gives them a bit of wiggle room. I just hope it isn't like the PA Turnpike Commissions' installation of EVSEs announced in December of 2012 to be installed "by summer of 2013", which have not yet been installed and is now projected to be in place by summer of 2014!
 
I am a Mitsu slesperson. I talked with my district rep yesterday, who pulled up a shipping schedule for i shipment to the U. S. Western Region. The first shipments are scheduled, from Japan, for April 14, 2014. That should mean that dealer deliveries should begin around the first of May (offload ships, rail to holding centers, truck to dealers).

Those of you who have any more questions about delivery schedules can email me at:

[email protected]

I will be happy to tell you whatever I know. I'd be happier to help you buy one!

Greg
 
GregCooper.

If you were anywhere closer to where I live, I'd be looking to you for buying one. Appreciate the response. If the Momentum Dealership in Fairfield, CA had bothered to bring the car to the show I was at, they would have had first choice for my business, but as a no show, I'll be looking elsewhere.

Thanks for updating us.
 
Greg, thank you for the update. For anyone in Kansas, you now have a contact point.

Inputs from anyone associated with Mitsubishi have been sorely missing from this forum (although I suspect a few helpful techie comments in the past may have had some ties to Mitsu).

Nice to know that we can now start saying "around May" instead of "hopefully by Summer" when asked when the i-MiEV will be available.
 
So April 14, 2014 has come and gone... Has anyone actually confirmed the departure of a boatload of I-mievs for North America? As recently as April 17, 2014. I spoke with 6 Western Canadian -imiev dealers and 3 US dealers and no one could confirm there is actually such a critter as a 2014 North American I-miev planned or en route. Neither Mitsu USA or Canadian websites have anything on the 1-miev when you look at specing out a car or pricing one. The Western Canadian dealers (BC, AB, and Sask) all say they draw their stock from a new vehicle pool which has 0 vehicles in it. They are also able to order stuff but there is nothing on their program to order from.

I think if you really want an I-miev and tax credits go find one of the few left in dealer inventories, or start looking for a cheap one which has already had the tax credits stripped and has very low miles and a low price. Looks someone in Georgia was playing that game. How else do you explain cars with less than 400 miles being sold as used, and sold just after tax filing season? Georgia must have been really generous with tax credits. I have seen at least 3 car faxes suggesting this has been taking place.
Not a problem for me because it gives us up some cheap used cars.

Rocky
 
Rocky" Georgia must have been really generous with tax credits. I have seen at least 3 car faxes suggesting this has been taking place. Not a problem for me because it gives us up some cheap used cars. Rocky[/quote said:
Yep, Georgia has a $5000 state tax credit with no recapture. Buy a used EV in Georgia and register it in Colorado, which gives tax credits on used EVs if they've not been registered in CO before!
 
acensor said:
I wrote them and told them that on their site it shows the 2014 available but when you click on Build and Price it isn't a listed model of car in the dropdown, etc, etc.

"Dear Mr. Censor,

We apologize for the confusion on the website about the availability of the 2014 iMIEV. The release of the '14 model is scheduled for late Spring. We are excited about the release of the newer model iMIEV as we will offer a substantial price cut in the price of the vehicle of apprimately $6000.00. ......

Thank you for your interest in what we feel is the greenest, most economical vehicle on the planet.

Warmest regards, "

I wrote them again yesterday asking WTF is the story... what's the current delivery in USA date info... and how come the info they sent me in January didn't hold up.

Here's their reply:
"On Mon, Apr 21, 2014, at 09:16 AM, [email protected] wrote:

Good morning, Alex.
Mitsubishi has not sent pricing or delivery-date information. I will let you know as soon as they do.

Regards, Rocky"

About the only thing I can give them points for is replying promptly.
No date. No price. No explaination what changed the date. :roll:

P.S., I just wrote BACK to Rocky asking how come we got inconsistant info.
Here's what he wrote back:
--------------
Until Mitsubishi announces firm delivery dates to their dealers none of us have any idea when they will arrive. All any dealer can say is that they are being told that MiEV's will be here sometime during the Spring.

Rocky Rawstern
Digital Media Manager
Interstate 5 Cars
[email protected]
541-245-2057
--------------

Apparently when I was emailing to Rocky my "contact us" email had been routed to my local dealers media manager... unknown to me.
 
acensor: I really do not think Mitsubishi understands the potential of this little IMiev. If the smart car can be very popular worldwide, why would not this little car that has the advantage of four seat and a larger cargo space. The reason that the 2012 did not sell well was not because of the car but because of the high price (compared to the leaf) and zero advertisement. I have not meet anyone that even knows of the IMeiv. And even if you look at the Canadian web site, they still have the old higher price. I believe this could be a very popular car if Mitsubishi just believe in it and educate the public on it's potential. The real reward happens when a company leads rather them follow. Yes, it can be a risk, but the reward is worth it.

And if Mitsubishi is reading this forum. It is about time you believe in your product and let everyone see you stand behind it.
 
"I really do not think Mitsubishi understands the potential of this little IMiev."

I suspect it's a matter that SOME in Mitsubish do understand and are probably frustrated that those above them don't.

Given that it's at about the same price point as the Smart Electric, if it were a visible option to Smart buyers for many it would be a no-contest with the MiEV winning.

We can only hope that when they finally get the new ones to dealers they'll do a better publicity job than last time.
 
I'm confused by some of the back and forth I'm reading here. Mitsubishi has most definitely announced a price ($22,995) and the only thing I've ever read about availability is they expect to be selling them by "late Spring." How can we say that "didn't hold up" when it's only mid-April? They've got a couple of months to go before anyone can say they've missed.

I still can't tell what's going on at Mitsubishi in terms of how many of these they want to sell or would even be able to sell if they wanted to. Though Outlander P-HEV numbers aren't exactly stellar in any market, they absolutely cannot meet demand, so those sales appear to be supply-constrained. While we've been told the OPHEV's batteries are coming from a new LEJ plant, the fact is that the OPHEV uses the same battery tech as the i-MiEV, and I imagine meeting demand for the more profitable OPHEV is going to take priority regardless of what plant you're talking about. As long as that's the case, I wouldn't hold my breath for the big ad blitz.

I am at least encouraged that it seems they'll continue to make the i-MiEV available to any Mitsubishi dealer willing to earn certification, regardless of location, so thankfully it's still not a compliance car, even at the new super-low price. I drive my 2012 to work every day of course, but I've also put pictures up in my office cubicle and talk it up when the opportunity arises. Distinctive as its appearance may be, it's still misidentified as some newfangled four-place Smart (no such thing, I know) by most casual observers, and nothing in its badging says Electric; I'm thinking of getting a "100% Electric / 100% American Power" license plate frame to clarify matters. If they do a $99/mo. lease again, I might have to start getting pretty shrill in my endorsement :D
 
Though Outlander P-HEV numbers aren't exactly stellar in any market, they absolutely cannot meet demand, so those sales appear to be supply-constrained.

Vike : Which is a bit of my point. The future must include electric vehicle and we should move in this direction a soon as possible. Not only because of the environment but because of the jobs (locally produced electrons), conflict (middle east) and person freedom in not being controlled by large oil companies (government lobbies). And I know that there is a lot of opposition to this change but it still does need to happen.

So let's use the economic argument of supply and demand. If there is a demand, a company should increase the supply to take advantage of the demand. If the demand is low, create demand via advertisement. And through this advertisement you educate the public on the real benefits BEV have. You increase your market share, increasing your profits and in this case, do a little to change the world for the better.

I guess what I am saying is, if there is a demand that you can not meet. Than increase your ability to meet that demand. And if that ability to meet demand is limited by battery production. Than increase battery production.

Companies, and I mean all the car companies, are taking a slow approach to BEV's. And I understand they want to be careful. But the last three-four years have shown that there is a real demand for electric vehicles even with the lack of advertisement. BEV sales have doubled each year for the last four years. At this rate, we would be looking at millions in just a few years. And I hate to see this growth be slowed because of some executive not truly understanding the future of personnel vehicles. It is electric in one form and another.

Dave
 
Well, I had three people convinced to wait for the i-MiEV. One got fed up waiting and is now buying a used Leaf. The second one, after waiting three months, is now going for the SmartED. Picture the last one being a (rather pretty) young lady with me hanging onto her leg and screaming "no…no!" while being dragged as she heads for a Fiat 500e dealership...

I called up my local Mitsubishi dealer a few days ago, asking to talk with a salesperson about the "electric car". When I asked him what the availability of the "electric car" is, I was told that "we have none in stock but maybe they are redesigning it and maybe we will see one in about six months", but he said I could actually have a look at one as they have one of the county i-MiEVs there at the present time. "Give me your name and phone number and I will let you know". Never heard back.

I called up a second Mitsu dealer, about 50 miles away. He told me that he has a used silver i-MiEV listed at $17K, but he didn't understand my question about whether it had Fast Charge (Quick Charge or CHAdeMO). After pawing through his paperwork he allowed as it has a premium package (and thus it's an SE w/ QC) and finally did find the answer to my question: that it does have QC. When asked about any new i-MiEVs coming in, he was completely clueless.

I called a third Mitsu dealer, also about 50 miles away, and the fellow (Chris at Oakland Mitsubishi) was very knowledgeable: he briefly explained what the car was, gave its price and federal incentive & state rebate amounts, and that they had a number on order and were expecting them in early May.
 
JoeS said:
Well, I had three people convinced to wait for the i-MiEV. One got fed up waiting and is now buying a used Leaf. The second one, after waiting three months, is now going for the SmartED. Picture the last one being a (rather pretty) young lady with me hanging onto her leg and screaming "no…no!" while being dragged as she heads for a Fiat 500e dealership...
Nothing wrong with the LEAF or SmartED (assuming you think through the ForTwo's packaging constraints), but your friend heading into the Fiat dealership is being more than a little foolish. She'll spend more money on a car with less utility that effectively can't be taken out of state. There's no way to service it in Utah kids, so she'd better plan on living in California for the duration or be prepared to take a bath if forced to sell (or buy out the lease, depending - and if she's leasing, she'd damn well better make sure the lease is assumable so she can transfer it!!).

All that, just to reward Fiat for declining to market an economically viable EV, instead delivering a scam-mobile to satisfy the CARB checklist and maintain their good standing with ZEV credits in California.

Compliance cars suck.
 
JoeS said:
Well, I had three people convinced to wait for the i-MiEV. One got fed up waiting and is now buying a used Leaf. The second one, after waiting three months, is now going for the SmartED. Picture the last one being a (rather pretty) young lady with me hanging onto her leg and screaming "no…no!" while being dragged as she heads for a Fiat 500e dealership...
<snip>
I called a third Mitsu dealer, also about 50 miles away, and the fellow (Chris at Oakland Mitsubishi) was very knowledgeable: he briefly explained what the car was, gave its price and federal incentive & state rebate amounts, and that they had a number on order and were expecting them in early May.

Well, I'm 90% gone to another car as well. My wife loved the Leaf. I didn't buy one yet because my son lost his job a few weeks ago. I'm kind of waiting until his situation is settled before locking into a lease or car payment. Maybe that means I'll finally actually look at an iMiev - clear down in Oakland it seems.

But the dealership difference is huge to me. The Nissan dealer had several in stock, even the nice red one I wanted already equipped the way I want it. Didn't try to talk me out of it, or say anything but good stuff about the car. Big contrast to my experiences so far at the Mitsubishi Dealerships. I just have the feeling that the Leaf will have much better support down the road with a replacement part market, etc. I'm tempted to wait for their "lizard" battery model though, as it can get quite hot here in Sacramento. But if I decide to go the lease route, I suppose it doesn't matter so much.
 
acensor said:
Given that it's at about the same price point as the Smart Electric, if it were a visible option to Smart buyers for many it would be a no-contest with the MiEV winning.

Folks on the forum keep repeating this, but for me, price was important, but there is a certain "IT" factor in the Smart due to it's packaging (for some like me it's an advantage, to others, they wouldn't consider a two seater). Remember, the Miata sold in large numbers...

The iMiEV is a wonderful and practical city EV like the Smart ED, but there are compelling differentiators which attracted me to the Smart, namely the panoramic clear roof, rear wheel drive, and wide choice of design/interior color and equipement options.

Also, as a Mercedes owner, I got a $1000 discount, on top of the $3000 Smart bonus in late 2013 which dropped the price to $19K after taxes and rebates (drive away cost).

The new iMiEV looks to be close to coming in that range, so will also be very compelling when it arrives.

I will certainly test drive the new one, as it might make a nice car to lease for my wife, who spends $100 per month on gas for our SUV, so if the lease came in around $120, it would be interesting!
 
Don't forget that the i-MiEV is rear wheel drive.

If I didn't occasionally haul around 3 people and/or large cargo, I probably would've bought a Smart EV.
 
[/quote]

Folks on the forum keep repeating this, but for me, price was important, but there is a certain "IT" factor in the Smart due to it's packaging (for some like me it's an advantage, to others, they wouldn't consider a two seater). Remember, the Miata sold in large numbers...

[/quote]

For me it's all cost. With or without rebates iMiev is the cheapest. And like everyone pointed out, the iMiev can carry 4 or have a huge carload area. That has been convenient several times. And it's easily 20% more efficient than the smart fortwo electric (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/31673.shtml vs http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/31064.shtml ). How can the iMiev do so much more than other EVs at less cost?

-Barry
 
BarryP said:
How can the iMiev do so much more than other EVs at less cost?
Because we have a much less luxurious (read-much more durable) interior, at least the US model anyway. There's no way I would haul an eBike with rough metal edges (from wrecking it) in a LEAF or Model S for the fear of destroying the upholstery. We also have the benefit of an existing car and assembly, though so does the Smart. The Smart's price climbs, one from being a Daimler product, but mainly for the refined interior.
 
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