Are Batteries in Electric Cars Safe?

Next month will mark another important milestone on the road to cleaner, greener motoring: Mitsubishi Motor (7211.T) will begin mass-producing an electric vehicle, becoming the first major carmaker in the world to do so. By late July, the Tokyo-based automaker will deliver its $48,000 electric i-MiEV minicar to businesses and local governments. The car, which runs 160 kilometers on a charge, will be available to Japanese consumers in the coming months. They will pay just $33,000 thanks to a Japanese government subsidy, but likely won't drive their cars off dealers' lots until April 2010. "With the electric vehicle, we will challenge global players," Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko told reporters at the i-MiEV's official launch in Tokyo on June 4.