The Mitsubishi i-MiEV has been awarded the ‘Environment Special Grand Prize’ at the 25th International Automobile Festival held in Paris on February 4, 2010.
Selected among four nominees each representing concrete projects for sustainable mobility in terms of environmental protection or security" by a panel of 18 design, fashion, automotive and media luminaries.
As commented by Kiyoshi Teshima, President of Mitsubishi Motors France who received the award on behalf of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation: "This Grand Prize is a great honour and is a further incentive for our engineers to continue pursuing Mitsubishi Motors’ pioneering work in promotion of popularisation of alternative powertrains.”
In Japan, the i-MiEV has already been on the market since July 2009 whilst production of export left-hand drive versions will start in October 2010.
Since it was established in 1986, the International Automobile Festival has wished to promote the talents of designers, artists, men and women who are at the forefront of developments in the automobile industry. Other winners include the Peugeot RCZ voted the most beautiful car in the world and the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics voted the most beautiful concept car.
The i-MiEV is capable of a top speed of 81 mph, a range of 100 miles and can be trickle charged from flat to full in 6 hours using a UK three-pin socket, costing only 96p for a full charge. In addition, the i MiEV can be fast-charged from flat to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes.
